A P.E.I. doctor from the Island’s Kings County Memorial Hospital says the past months have seen two trends: increased issues in managing the demand in the ER and increased aggression towards staff because of wait times. The physician says that with doctors working almost around the clock, changes must be made at the hospital's ER to keep services sustainable. The hospital is now working on a policy change with Health P.E.I. The policy will see patients at the ER who aren’t in need of urgent care to be asked to come back the next day or to make an appointment with their family physician. Specifically, the new policy will propose that, at around 8:30 p.m., a charge nurse and physician will determine how many more patients can be seen.
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NBHC Sustainability