Busy flu season could lead to hospital wait times of more than 10 hours

Hospital wait times are going up as the flu spreads throughout southern Ontario. CTV’s Krista Simpson finds out how long patients are waiting.

Health officials across Waterloo Region and Guelph say emergency departments are busy dealing with a surge in flu cases.

At Guelph General Hospital, staff said the uptick can overwhelm a already stressed system as they balance seeing patients in a timely manner with treating those with the most acute illnesses.

“We have seen an influx in probably about a 10 to 15 per cent increase in total volumes in our emergency department. A good portion of which are represented by respiratory illness,” Mark Walton, president and CEO at Guelph General Hospital, said.

Respiratory illnesses include influenza, RSV and COVID-19. A rapid and early rise in influenza A cases strained some hospital resources in Ontario over the holidays.

In Waterloo Region, there were 113 new cases of influenza during the week of Dec. 28 to Jan. 3.

“Influenza A is primarily what we’re seeing,” Stephanie Pearsall, chief nursing executive at Cambridge Memorial Hospital, said. “That can affect complex medical patients, patients that are a bit elderly, even are really young patients can be affected, quite significantly by influenza A,”

Anyone heading to an emergency department is being cautioned to expect longer than normal wait times.

“We have seen movement from hours to several hours, up into the 10 to 12 (hour waits) in some cases,” Walton said.

Cambridge Memorial Hospital is also typically busy at this time of year, but staff said they are seeing even more demand than they are used to.

“We’re seeing about 135 to 140 patients a day. We generally see about 130 or so. So our volumes have increased. We’ve opened additional beds in the hospital. We have about 30 additional spaces open currently. So we can relieve some of that pressure in the emergency department,” said Pearsall.

The Waterloo Regional Health Network said not every case of the flu requires an emergency room visit.

“Your primary care physician, urgent care clinics, the pharmacies can also support as well,” Tricia Brown, director of emergency services at Waterloo Regional Health Network, said. “Then also your emergency department, if you feel that your symptoms are sort of uncontrolled with standard wellness techniques.”

According to Waterloo Region Public Health, flu-related complications can affect anyone but they are more common for those in a high-risk group. High risk groups include seniors, young children, pregnant women and people with underlying health conditions.

It is estimated that flu causes approximately 12,200 hospitalizations and 3,500 deaths in Canada each year.

Health officials stress it is not too late to get your flu shot. Many pharmacies in Waterloo Region offer flu shots and so do family doctors. It takes a few weeks after the shot is administered for immunity to take effect.