The hospital that serves St. Thomas and Elgin County is asking its community to be patient this summer while it deals with staff shortages.
As with several rural hospitals across the province right now, St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital (STEGH) said it is still having a hard time with staffing. The hospital said the problem will likely continue throughout the summer, and it is hopeful the public can be understanding about the situation.
“This week, we are experiencing a significant shortage that is impacting all areas of the hospital, including wait times in the Emergency Department,” a statement from STEGH read. “With an increased demand on our healthcare system that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, staffing pressures are expected to continue to escalate throughout the summer.”
While the emergency department at STEGH remains open 24/7, public health officials have previously asked that residents experiencing non-emergent ailments, consider waiting to see their primary care physician or attend a walk-in clinic instead. However, anyone in need of emergent care should still attend the emergency department.
According to statistics from Ontario Health reported in May 2022, patients who attended STEGH waited 1.6 hours on average in the emergency department before receiving a first assessment from a physician.
The data also showed that low-urgency patients, not admitted to the hospital, spent around 2.2 hours in emergency, while high-urgent patients, also not admitted, spent about 3.3 hours.
