An emergency declared a week ago over ambulance offload delays has been downgraded to "monitoring," but it appears the situation has not substantially changed.
Essex County Warden Gary McNamara said call volumes for paramedics have stabilized, even decreased, but could easily spike again.
A release from the County of Essex states that "there have been no systemic changes that would warrant rescinding this emergency." It also says the crisis "is not over."
Windsor Regional Hospital said the Met Campus was at 102 per cent capacity on Friday, while the Ouellette Campus was at 109 per cent. Thirty-eight patients had been admitted but were waiting for an inpatient bed.
Erie Shores Healthcare averages between seven and ten patients waiting for an inpatient bed.
McNamara said he and EMS Chief Bruce Krauter would monitor the volume of calls over the weekend. Longer term, the fall influenza season is about to kick into high gear in November, potentially increasing call volumes and exacerbating hospital crowding.
"We're being cautious," said McNamara. "It's still all hands on deck, and the control group is meeting at least two to three times a week."
However, he didn't rule out rescinding the emergency entirely within the next few days.
Officials declared the emergency on October 17 after a sharp rise in offload delays or Code Blacks. During the first two weeks of October, there were 491 minutes when no ambulance was available to respond to an emergency in the community. In September, the total was 116, and 77 in August.
McNamara said the problem is complex and requires change across the system. The first step was for the province to recognize offload delays as a serious public health risk. After meeting with Health Minister Sylvia Jones, he's confident they achieved that first objective.
Other recommendations included in a 12-point plan that came out last week include employing a navigator in the EMS communications centre, and allowing paramedics to drop off patients considered low-acuity, or dropping them off at an urgent care centre or their primary caregiver, so they can get back on the road. A pilot project would see mobile medical units used as emergency rooms.
McNamara said some recommendations could be implemented soon, while others would require "political will."
The union representing paramedics, CUPE Local 2974, demanded more funding for paramedics and new hospital beds. Friday's release said, "it is important to note that offload delays are not the fault of our hospital partners." McNamara said the system is complex, and so is a solution.
Areas across Ontario experience Code Blacks, but only Essex County declared an emergency.
