For the second time in the last several months, London's largest hospital network is experiencing lengthy wait times at its emergency department.
Officials with the London Health Sciences Centre reported that, as of 2 p.m. Tuesday, patients with non-urgent and non-emergent concerns who attend the adult emergency departments (EDs) will be waiting upwards of 20 hours.
"We continue to see all patients who present to our EDs, but patients will experience varying wait times depending on the seriousness of their condition," read a statement from LHSC Department of Emergency Chief Dr. Christie MacDonald.
MacDonald said hospital physicians are working to provide care to all patients who continue to wait, however she said if a patient's symptoms appear to be less acute, or aren't accompanied by more serious symptoms such as high fever, shortness of breath, or signs of infection, there will be a long wait.
"We are encouraging our community to first consider an alternative option when seeking non-emergency medical care," the statement from MacDonald added.
Those with emergent symptoms should not delay seeking care and are told to call 911 or attend an emergency room as soon as possible. Otherwise, those who plan on attending either of the LHSC's emergency departments should prepare themselves for a lengthy stay and consider bringing a phone charger, water bottle, snacks, along with items to help pass the time such as a book and headphones.
This is the second time in less than two weeks the hospital has reported excessive wait times in its emergency departments. On October 6, the LHSC reported delays of over 18 hours for non-emergency conditions. At the end of August, the hospital recorded wait times of 20 hours.
Many hospitals across the province continue to experience delays, or in some cases closures, due to staff shortages and a large number of patients in need of care. On Monday, Essex declared a local emergency due to ambulance delays as paramedics wait to offload patients at the hospital.
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