Transitional beds aim to reduce ER waits

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This article was published 16/08/2024 (604 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The province is adding 68 transitional care beds to facilities to free up hospital beds, improve the flow of patients and reduce emergency wait times.

The transitional beds are spaces where patients can await long-term health-care services while receiving the right type of care they need. Most often, these are high-needs seniors who are waiting in acute care wards for admission to a personal care home, patients who require some level of care — such as physiotherapy — before they can be discharged, or patients who would otherwise be discharged without housing in place, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said in a news release.

The capital cost of the 68 beds is $1.7 million, requiring $3.7 million in annual funding. Nearly half of the 68 are already up and running, the provincial government said. The 68 beds include:

• 15 in Selkirk to support seniors and patients receiving additional care.
• Eight at the Misericordia Health Centre to support seniors and patients receiving additional care.
• 25 at Holy Family Personal Care Home to support seniors waiting to be admitted into a personal care home of their choice.
• 20 at St. Boniface Street Links’ 24-7 safe space program for patients discharged from hospital without housing in place.