The Royal Columbian Hospital in British Columbia was forced to house five patients in the hospital's Tim Hortons on Tuesday. The hospital's emergency area was dealing with overcrowding at the time, so there was no room for the five patients. The Tim Horton's was closed at the time, and screens were put up to guard the patients' privacy while they underwent heart monitoring and blood tests. It only took about 90 minutes for space to open up, and the Tim Hortons then went back to normal operations.
Dr. Sheldon Glazer, an emergency room doctor at the hospital has admitted that the hospital has been dealing with overcrowding problems for quite some time. Apparently, they have been seeing patients for years in hallways or even in stairwells. This causes a problem because nurses and doctors cannot adequately treat patients in makeshift triage areas like hallways, or even Tim Hortons'.
This is an awful situation, especially for the patients and their families. The British Columbia health board, and especially the Royal Columbian Hospital need to do something about the overcrowding now that it is in the national spotlight. They could renovate or expand the hospital, or simply convert existing space into new triage areas. On the positive side, however, kudos goes to the nurses and doctors who have been dealing with this issue for years. They care about the patients, and will do whatever it takes to make sure they get the proper care.
http://www.healthzone.ca/health/newsfeatures/article/946644--b-c-hospital-uses-tim-hortons-to-check-patients-bits
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