The CEO of the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance is trying to address concerns about long wait times in the Chatham emergency department.
Colin Patey says while it may take some time to get to less serious cases, those with greater medical need don't wait as long.
In fact, Patey says the hospital is one of the fastest in the province at dealing with patients who need to be admitted.
"[It takes] 3.8 hours compared to the provincial index of 29 hours for the time a physician says you should be admitted to the time you are lying in that bed in the hospital," he says. "The hospital business is complex, there's always room for improvement, emergency departments are where people often get frustrated, but for people who really need emergency services look at that statistic."
He also says wait times in the Chatham emergency department have improved significantly compared with many other Ontario hospitals.
