Regina ERs return to normal after spike in falls due to ice

Patient numbers at Regina emergency rooms are stabilizing after being at 200 per cent capacity on Wednesday due to a high number of slips and falls on the ice.

Between Wednesday morning and Thursday afternoon, Regina General Hospital (RGH) saw 55 people come to the emergency room, while the Pasqua Hospital saw 45.

During that time, both hospitals saw an influx of orthopaedic injuries from slips and falls. Due to those injuries, there was also a large number of new emergency orthopedic surgery patients.

On Thursday morning there were nine additional patients requiring surgery at Pasqua Hospital and 10 at RGH. Fifty per cent of those surgeries were ice-related.

The large number of surgery patients did have an impact on the availability of beds for elective surgeries. Due to the demand for beds an additional 13 orthopedic surgeries were postponed on Thursday including nine at Pasqua Hospital and four at RGH.

RGH increased operating room staff on Wednesday night to help deal with the additional surgeries. The extra teams provided surgeries to the most urgent patients.

EMS is also returning to normal call volumes of about 75 calls a day. From Wednesday at midnight to Thursday at midnight, EMS responded to 114 calls.