'Discouraging' to see hallway medicine return in Waterloo region, says Grand River Hospital CEO

Despite the addition of a small hospital's worth of new beds during the COVID-19 pandemic, Grand River Hospital (GRH) is once again dealing with so-called "hallway medicine," where there aren't enough beds available for incoming patients so they are parked on stretchers and gurneys in various hallways.  

Across the region, 215 new hospital beds have been added during the pandemic, 146 of them at Grand River Hospital.

Still, patients are once again stuck waiting in hospital emergency departments for beds to free up, though the exact number fluctuates often. There were nine people in this position Friday afternoon, down slightly from 11 on Thursday morning. 

The hospital is also admitting patients to parts of the hospital they normally wouldn't go – for example, adults being sent to the pediatric ward, said hospital president and CEO Ron Gagnon. 

"It's discouraging to be back in hallway medicine," said Gagnon during a Friday media briefing, noting this was an "everyday occurrence" before COVID-19. 

"All of the beds that we have been able to open in this region, we need to make sure stay in operation long term, not just to the end of this pandemic."

The situation isn't unique to Grand River Hospital. Across Waterloo region and Wellington County, there's a shortage of 57 patient beds, local hospitals said in a joint release Friday. 

There are also 208 COVID-positive patients in the area, up from 166 on Tuesday, the release said. 

Please be respectful to staff, hospital CEO urges

Not only are beds in short supply, so are staff.

The hospital has issued a call-out for retired healthcare workers to return; so far, Gagnon said a handful have taken the hospital up on that offer. 

Those who are working are burned out, and at times, dealing with abusive behaviour from patients, said Gagnon. 

"I would ask that we not be treating them poorly, that we not be yelling at them, that we not be spitting at them, that we would not be verbally or physically abusive to them," he said. 

Reductions, relocations

If the bed shortage worsens, Gagnon said the hospital may need to transfer patients – first looking at other hospitals in the region, then to other parts of the province. 

But other hospitals are in a similar predicament. This week, capacity pressures at the London Health Sciences Centre pushed that hospital to begin transferring some regional patients back to their hometown hospitals. 

If Grand River ends up in a situation where it has nowhere to send patients, Gagnon said the hospital will continue to "stretch" nursing assignments and have more people in "non-traditional" care spaces. 

The hospital also plans to continue to ramp down services and procedures until it has the staff and physical space to start them up again, regardless of when the province allows these procedures to resume, he said.