A week after Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) launched a new online wait-time clock that lets patients know how long they may have to wait to see a doctor after arriving at the hospital’s emergency department, Northumberland Hills Hospital (NHH) has done the same.
On Wednesday (December 3), the Cobourg hospital launched its own emergency department (ED) wait-time dashboard, which is available online and in the ED, along with a self-arrival kiosk in the ED where patients have the option to register themselves.
The wait time dashboard was created and designed by an interdisciplinary team, including ED staff and physicians and volunteers, in partnership with peers at PRHC.
Like PRHC’s online wait-time clock, the NHH wait-time dashboard provides a real-time estimate of the average wait time in the ED to see a doctor, the number of patients waiting to see a doctor, the number of patients waiting for an inpatient bed, and the number of patients currently in the ED.
It also provides a graph showing the typical wait times to see a doctor at different times of the day.
“The creation of the ED wait time dashboard is a key initiative that reflects our strategic commitment to accountable care and responds to the growing public interest in patient volumes across emergency departments in Ontario,” NHH president and CEO Susan Walsh told kawarthaNOW.
“By providing real-time insights, we hope to empower community members who need to visit the emergency department to better prepare for their visit and, where possible, choose times that are less busy for non-urgent matters,” Walsh said.
“This tool is designed to alleviate uncertainty before patients step through the door, making the experience less stressful and more predictable. Most importantly, it demonstrates NHH’s dedication to accessible and transparent communication,” shed added.
“It’s a tangible step toward building trust and strengthening our relationship with the community we serve.”
NHH notes the dashboard does not predict the entire length of stay for any one person in the ED, as this depends on the care required as well as any tests a patient may need. Patients in the ED are also always seen in order of medical priority rather than by arrival time, with those having more serious conditions always treated first. Wait times can also change quickly and unexpectedly due to new or more urgent emergencies, including sudden high-volume incidents
Patients who arrive in the ED can register themselves at the new self-arrival kiosk. Those who prefer not to self-register at the kiosk will continue to be supported by the hospital’s registration team and ED volunteers. All other outpatient visits will continue to register at the emergency department or central registration desks.
For more information about the ED Wait Time Dashboard, visit nhh.ca/patients/wait-times.
