Doctors question emergency room upgrade

Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: January 23, 2009 4:00 PM

The latest in technology will help streamline Vernon Jubilee Hospital’s emergency department, but some doctors insist it’s not enough. An electronic patient tracking system is being installed in the emergency department at a cost of $164,000. It will provide all of the details needed to assess and treat a patient. “As there is always grid lock and code purples and complete congestion, this board will be of little value. We need more funded beds,” said Dr. Chris Cunningham, former VJH medical staff president. “Without more funded beds at VJH, this board and anything else introduced will be of little help to patients and health care workers. We have had more code purples and a greater amount of over capacities with patients having no proper beds since all our previous cries for help several months ago.” Dr. Ed Hardy, current medical staff president, has mixed views about the new tracking system. “The ER docs should be able to see and evaluate patients more efficiently and move them through the department more quickly, but if they end up admitted, they might still end up stuck in ER if there are no beds elsewhere An electronic board of any colour won’t fix that problem,” said Hardy.

Installation of the tracking system comes at the same time that construction has been launched on the new $160 million patient care tower. “The new tower does nothing to address the critical bed shortage we have had yesterday, we have today, and we will have tomorrow and even well past the day the new tower opens,” said Cunningham. “We need the government to commit to funding more beds immediately and commit to funding beds in the two extra floors shelled into the new tower.” George Abbott, health minister, anticipates beds could be developed in the one shelled-in floor after the tower opens in 2011, and the second one some time after that. “The beds will come as needed and clearly they are needed,” he said, adding that the tower project is an indication of the government taking the doctors’ concerns seriously. “All of that is needed to relieve pressure on a really good hospital. It’s one of the biggest projects in B.C.”

With the tracking system, doctors and nurses will have access to information like triage level, bed number, symptoms and updates on lab orders. It will eliminate the need to manually track down these details. “It won’t alleviate code purple but it will allow us to use the space more effectively,” said Dr. Manish Bhatt, emergency department head.“The white board will allow us to continue to see patients effectively and quickly. We want to take care of our patients and community and this will help.”