Bluewater Health emergency departments are anticipating a quieter summer following last year's surge of visits.
Between January and June of 2022, ERs in Sarnia and Petrolia saw a 41 per cent increase in daily visits, and the average length of stay was around 8.5 hours. In August, the hospital network described its ER staffing as "tight".
Hospital Vice President of Care Transitions Lisa Reagan said heading into this summer, they're fully staffed with physicians and nurses and they don't anticipate any closures.
"So last year was a little atypical because we did see a surge over our last summer, but that seems to have stabilized [since about that fall] and that's really our new norm," said Regan. "We're seeing about 160 visits per day at the Sarnia site and 60 visits per day at the Petrolia site, which is a little higher than we saw pre-pandemic."
Other emergency departments across Ontario also experienced a surge of patients and staffing challenges in 2022, which led to a number of temporary closures -- Bluewater Health ERs remained open during that time.
Regan said at the moment, patients at the Sarnia site are waiting just under three hours to be seen by a physician.
"So I think we're in a pretty good position. We know that we can anticipate the incidental sick time and we do have strategies to cover that," she said. "At this time, we have no concerns."
In recent weeks, more than half-a-dozen Ontario emergency departments have had to temporarily close their doors because of staffing issues, including sites in Seaforth and Wingham.
-With files from Stephanie Chaves