Hospital overcrowding: 50 to 70 cancelled surgeries per month in Ottawa. And elsewhere?

Yesterday, the Ottawa Citizen reported a record outbreak of the VRE superbug at the Ottawa Hospital due to hospital overcrowding.

Today the Ottawa Sun reports that 982 Surgeries were postponed in 2010 with 50-70 elective surgeries cancelled at the Ottawa Hospital each month for the last six months.

Ottawa hospitals had an average 98.9% occupancy rate from Dec. 11, 2010 to Feb. 4, during the height of the flu season.

That is only slightly higher than the the province-wide average -- for all of 2010.

So, the problems in Ottawa are likely present elsewhere.

dallan@cupe.ca

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