Island Health launches estimated ER wait times website

The health authority for Vancouver Island has launched a website with estimated emergency room wait times for most hospitals in its jurisdiction. 

The webpage launched on July 3 and also notes ER closures and includes information about other resources available for people seeking same-day care, like the region's urgent primary care centres. 

"It's important for people to be able to easily find and understand the different care options that are available to them so that they can make the best choice for themselves or a loved one," said Marko Peljhan, Island Health's vice-president for acute clinical operations. 

During a media briefing, Peljhan said the listed wait times are not calculated by using real-time data. Instead, they are determined by averaging similar times over an eight-week period and are updated every hour.

"This is what will be your most likely wait at that given date and time, but it may not be completely accurate depending on what's happening in that moment," Peljhan said, adding that a major incident could affect the times listed on the website.

"Emergency departments are very dynamic places, so that could change rapidly."

Peljhan said Island Health reviewed several different ways of gathering the data to list wait times, and it felt that this was the most accurate system.

The health authority estimates that nine out of 10 patients will be seen during those estimated times. 

The website emphasizes that the most urgent cases will be seen first, and most people should be seen sooner than the estimated time. 

Peljhan said anyone with life-threatening needs should skip the website and call 911. 

Data on wait times isn't available at some Island Health hospitals, however. The hospitals in Tofino, Alert Bay, Salt Spring Island, Port Hardy and Port McNeill just say "open."

Peljhan says that's because they use different software to monitor their wait times. He said Island Health is interested in investing in those hospitals' electronic health records, but it doesn't currently have the capacity to do that. 

Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health have had similar websites up for several years.  

'A great step in the right direction'

Langford resident Rosanna Carbone was happy to hear about the new website.

"I think that's going to really help people out," said Carbone, who started a Facebook group last year for people to share wait times at local emergency rooms.

"It's a great step in the right direction."

Carbonne says she started the Facebook group after having taken her son, who was around 18 months old at the time, to the ER when she couldn't secure an appointment with her family doctor for weeks.

She says they waited for about seven hours, at which point they just left. 

Knowing how long the wait might be can help anxious parents and other patients be mentally prepared for a long wait, Carbonne says, as well as with snacks or a phone charger and other necessities.