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What’s The Length Of Stay For Patients In Our Busiest Emergency Departments?
As not all of the data used in this report are current, it is important to note that changes made by staff in recent months have already resulted in positive outcomes and reduced wait times. Those results will show in the next reporting quarter.
Emergency Department Length of Stay – 14 high volume sites
The Emergency Department (ED) length of stay (LOS) is the time from when a patient is triaged until they are discharged or enter the hospital (leave the emergency department).
The top 14 Emergency Department sites in terms of high patient volume (annual visits greater than 40,000 in 2006/07) have been identified as improvement targets regarding waiting times in Emergency.
These 14 sites include:
- University of Alberta Hospital (Edmonton)
- Misericordia Community Hospital (Edmonton)
- Royal Alexandra Hospital (Edmonton)
- Grey Nuns Community Hospital (Edmonton)
- Sturgeon Community Hospital (Edmonton)
- Northeast Community Health Centre (Edmonton)
- Foothills Medical Centre (Calgary)
- Rockyview General Hospital (Calgary)
- Peter Lougheed Centre (Calgary)
- Alberta Children's Hospital (Calgary)
- Northern Lights Regional Health Centre (Fort McMurray)
- Red Deer Regional Hospital (Red Deer)
- Queen Elizabeth II Hospital (Grande Prairie)
- Chinook Regional Hospital (Lethbridge)
It is important to understand the extent to which patients are waiting in EDs, because waiting for care can result in delays to treatment for individual patients and reduced efficiency in the flow of patients that require admission from the ED onto an in-patient ward. There is some evidence to indicate that a relationship exists between patient flow through the ED and delays in care. For example, delays in some door-to-treatment times have been found in recent studies to be associated with ED overcrowding or longer ED wait times (Statistics Canada).
In the following tables, cases are grouped into complicated and uncomplicated in this analysis since the resources utilized and the time required to provide care is expected to be quite different.
Patients with a more serious initial assessment (CTAS 1,2 or 3) or those that require admission to a hospital are classified as complicated cases. Patients without a serious initial assessment and that are not admitted are classified as uncomplicated cases.
The time of leaving Emergency is captured for discharged patients on the patient Emergency Department (ED) record. However, for admitted patients the time the patient leaves the ED is captured on the inpatient (IP) record which requires linking across patient records. Linking the ED and Ip records is done by matching a unique patient identifier, as well as the decision to admit time, with the IP admission time. Since it may take many hours to allocate an appropriate bed for a patient waiting in the ED, a 7 day matching window is utilized.
The median (50th percentile) wait times and 90th percentile wait times presented in the following table provide an indication of the ED length of stay (LOS) for a certain percentage of patients. The median refers to the number of hours under which 50% of patients complete their ED stay. The 90th percentile refers to the number of hours under which 90% of patients complete their ED stay.
Q4 (Jan. 1 to March 31, 2009)
|
Peer Group |
Site |
90th percentile Time in Hours |
Median Time in Hours Cases |
|
Teaching |
Alberta Children's Hospital |
7.4 |
3.7 |
|
|
Foothills Medical Centre |
20.9 |
6.1 |
|
|
University of Alberta Hospital |
20.0 |
5.3 |
|
|
Grey Nuns Community Hospital |
18.4 |
4.7 |
|
Large Urban |
Misericordia Community Hospital |
12.7 |
3.8 |
|
|
Peter Lougheed Centre |
16.4 |
5.2 |
|
|
Rockyview General Hospital |
19.4 |
5.1 |
|
|
Royal Alexandra Hospital |
24.6 |
7.3 |
|
Large Urban Ambulatory |
Northeast Community Health Centre |
7.8 |
3.6 |
|
Regional |
Chinook Regional Hospital |
7.5 |
3.4 |
|
|
Northern Lights Regional Health Centre |
6.3 |
2.6 |
|
|
Queen Elizabeth II Hospital |
9.0 |
3.7 |
|
|
Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre |
16.8 |
4.4 |
|
Suburban / Rural |
Sturgeon Community Hospital |
11.1 |
4.1 |
|
Overall |
14 high volume site aggregate |
15.9 |
4.6 |
AHS Strategic Direction Target: 90% of patients with complex conditions within 14 hours
Q4 (Jan. 1 to March 31, 2009)
|
Peer Group |
Site |
90th percentile Time in Hours ED LOS for |
Median Time in Hours |
|
Teaching |
Alberta Children's Hospital |
5.2 |
2.9 |
|
|
Foothills Medical Centre |
7.4 |
3.1 |
|
|
University of Alberta Hospital |
7.9 |
3.4 |
|
|
Grey Nuns Community Hospital |
5.4 |
2.0 |
|
Large Urban |
Misericordia Community Hospital |
4.7 |
1.7 |
|
|
Peter Lougheed Centre |
6.9 |
3.0 |
|
|
Rockyview General Hospital |
5.4 |
2.0 |
|
|
Royal Alexandra Hospital |
11.0 |
4.9 |
|
Large Urban Ambulatory |
Northeast Community Health Centre |
5.8 |
2.8 |
|
Regional |
Chinook Regional Hospital |
4.8 |
2.3 |
|
|
Northern Lights Regional Health Centre |
4.3 |
1.6 |
|
|
Queen Elizabeth II Hospital |
6.0 |
2.5 |
|
|
Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre |
4.2 |
2.0 |
|
Suburban / Rural |
Sturgeon Community Hospital |
5.7 |
2.7 |
|
Overall |
14 high volume site aggregate |
5.9 |
2.5 |
AHS Strategic Direction Target: 90% of patients with minor or uncomplicated conditions within 5 hours
Emergency Department Length of Stay
The length of stay (LOS) in Emergency (ED) can be significantly different for patients treated and discharged from emergency, than for those subsequently admitted to an inpatient bed. The additional time required for admitted patients includes time for care, consultation for complex conditions as well as time associated with waiting for assignment to a hospital unit and movement to an inpatient bed.
A target is ED LOS of under 4 hours for discharged patients with a goal to have 90% or more of these patients having a LOS of 4 hours or less. For admitted patients a goal is to have 90% or more moved to an inpatient space within 8 hours. Some limitations exist to determine times accurately.
The following table presents the percentage of discharged patients with a length of stay in emergency under 4 hours, admitted patients with a length of stay in emergency under 8 hours, and the percentage of emergency Department visits documented as Left Without Being Seen (LWBS). LWBS includes patients that left without seeing a physician or left against medical advice or prior to treatment.
Q4 (Jan. 1 to March 31, 2009)
|
Site |
ED Visits |
% Discharged with |
% Admittted with |
% ED visits LWBS |
|
Peer Group: Teaching |
||||
|
Alberta Children's Hospital |
16,055 |
65% |
66% |
5.7% |
|
Foothills Medical Centre |
16,828 |
42% |
26% |
8.2% |
|
University of Alberta Hospital |
20,284 |
49% |
28% |
7.1% |
|
Peer Group Aggregate |
53,167 |
53% |
32% |
7.0% |
|
Peer Group: Large Urban |
||||
|
Grey Nuns Community Hospital |
14,235 |
55% |
24% |
8.1% |
|
Misericordia Community Hospital |
12,530 |
66% |
39% |
5.6% |
|
Peter Lougheed Centre |
17,347 |
46% |
22% |
9.9% |
|
Rockyview General Hospital |
16,792 |
52% |
25% |
4.3% |
|
Royal Alexandra Hospital |
14,764 |
28% |
24% |
14.0% |
|
Peer Group Aggregate |
75,668 |
50% |
26% |
8.4% |
|
Peer Group: Large Urban Ambulatory |
||||
|
Northeast Community Health Centre |
12,106 |
64% |
N/A |
8.9% |
|
Peer Group Aggregate |
12,106 |
64% |
N/A |
8.9% |
|
Peer Group: Urgent Care Centre |
||||
|
Sheldon M Chumir Centre |
12,193 |
71% |
N/A |
N/A |
|
South Calgary Health Centre |
11,339 |
75% |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Health First Strathcona |
4,318 |
75% |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Peer Group Aggregate |
27,850 |
73% |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Peer Group: Regional |
||||
|
Chinook Regional Hospital |
11,742 |
81% |
83% |
4.4% |
|
Medicine Hat Regional Hospital |
9,617 |
81% |
81% |
5.0% |
|
Northern Lights Regional Health Centre [1] |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Queen Elizabeth II Hospital [2] |
13,021 |
71% |
55% |
10.2% |
|
Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre |
14,999 |
72% |
39% |
4.5% |
|
Peer Group Aggregate |
49,379 |
77% |
66% |
5.7% |
|
Peer Group: Community Ambulatory Care Centre |
||||
|
Airdrie Regional Health Centre |
7,366 |
96% |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Okotoks Health and Wellness Centre |
6,857 |
98% |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Peer Group Aggregate |
14,223 |
97% |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Peer Group: Suburban / Rural |
||||
|
Athabasca Healthcare Centre |
2,510 |
95% |
87% |
0.6% |
|
Barrhead Healthcare Centre |
5,590 |
96% |
97% |
2.1% |
|
Bassano Health Centre |
688 |
91% |
52% |
2.9% |
|
Beaverlodge Municipal Hospital |
5,270 |
76% |
92% |
2.1% |
|
Big Country Hospital |
1,378 |
96% |
84% |
0.3% |
|
Bonnyville Healthcare Centre |
6,987 |
99% |
82% |
3.2% |
|
Bow Island Health Centre |
1,825 |
98% |
93% |
0.4% |
|
Boyle Healthcare Centre |
1,385 |
93% |
95% |
4.2% |
|
Brooks Health Centre |
8,049 |
98% |
100% |
2.4% |
|
Canmore General Hospital |
4,300 |
86% |
73% |
2.9% |
|
Cardston Health Centre |
3,024 |
93% |
90% |
1.5% |
|
Central Peace Health Complex |
1,695 |
93% |
84% |
0.8% |
|
Claresholm General Hospital |
2,392 |
82% |
65% |
0.3% |
|
Cold Lake Healthcare Centre |
7,360 |
99% |
94% |
2.2% |
|
Consort Hospital and Care Centre |
513 |
97% |
100% |
0.0% |
|
Coronation Hospital and Care Centre |
911 |
88% |
98% |
0.4% |
|
Crowsnest Pass Health Centre |
1,544 |
83% |
87% |
0.5% |
|
Daysland Health Centre |
1,896 |
93% |
84% |
0.5% |
|
Devon General Hospital |
3,310 |
93% |
47% |
1.3% |
|
Didsbury District Health Services |
3,038 |
93% |
83% |
2.2% |
|
Drayton Valley Hospital and Care Centre |
4,820 |
95% |
76% |
0.7% |
|
Drumheller Health Centre |
4,224 |
59% |
93% |
1.0% |
|
Edson Healthcare Centre |
5,006 |
90% |
76% |
2.3% |
|
Elk Point Healthcare Centre |
1,365 |
95% |
96% |
1.0% |
|
Fairview Health Complex |
4,876 |
57% |
88% |
2.3% |
|
Fort Saskatchewan Health Centre |
5,063 |
87% |
53% |
2.9% |
|
Fox Creek Healthcare Centre |
1,824 |
64% |
67% |
0.3% |
|
George McDougall - Smoky Lake Healthcare Centre |
982 |
93% |
99% |
0.5% |
|
Grande Cache Community Health Complex |
1,907 |
94% |
91% |
0.2% |
|
Hanna Health Centre |
956 |
81% |
89% |
1.1% |
|
Hardisty Health Centre |
588 |
97% |
88% |
0.7% |
|
High Prairie Health Complex |
4,022 |
93% |
74% |
7.0% |
|
High River General Hospital |
5,121 |
74% |
30% |
3.4% |
|
Hinton Healthcare Centre |
2,967 |
90% |
85% |
2.1% |
|
Innisfail Health Centre |
3,703 |
92% |
91% |
1.3% |
|
Killam Health Care Centre |
1,180 |
73% |
61% |
5.5% |
|
Lacombe Hospital and Care Centre |
5,969 |
91% |
91% |
1.8% |
|
Lamont Health Care Centre |
1,432 |
94% |
63% |
0.7% |
|
Leduc Community Hospital |
6,093 |
94% |
65% |
3.1% |
|
Manning Community Health Centre |
2,355 |
91% |
88% |
1.7% |
|
Mayerthorpe Healthcare Centre |
3,430 |
89% |
95% |
0.6% |
|
Mineral Springs Hospital |
3,170 |
90% |
85% |
1.8% |
|
Northwest Health Centre |
4,613 |
77% |
94% |
9.1% |
|
Oilfields General Hospital |
2,990 |
95% |
91% |
0.5% |
|
Olds Hospital and Care Centre |
3,749 |
84% |
95% |
1.0% |
|
Our Lady of The Rosary Hospital |
941 |
86% |
82% |
0.9% |
|
Peace River Community Health Centre |
5,813 |
59% |
91% |
3.0% |
|
Pincher Creek Health Centre |
2,029 |
82% |
78% |
0.9% |
|
Ponoka Hospital and Care Centre |
3,908 |
94% |
95% |
2.3% |
|
Provost Health Centre |
1,363 |
89% |
90% |
2.0% |
|
Raymond Health Centre |
2,263 |
96% |
93% |
0.0% |
|
Redwater Health Centre |
1,614 |
94% |
57% |
2.0% |
|
Rimbey Hospital and Care Centre |
1,705 |
91% |
79% |
0.7% |
|
Rocky Mountain House Health Centre |
6,886 |
89% |
78% |
3.7% |
|
Sacred Heart Community Health |
2,109 |
99% |
100% |
1.3% |
|
Seton - Jasper Healthcare Centre |
1,630 |
86% |
94% |
0.3% |
|
Slave Lake Healthcare Centre |
4,016 |
92% |
83% |
1.3% |
|
St. Joseph's General Hospital |
2,966 |
94% |
96% |
1.8% |
|
St. Mary's Hospital |
4,121 |
92% |
83% |
1.5% |
|
St. Theresa General Hospital |
4,885 |
95% |
95% |
1.5% |
|
St. Therese - St. Paul Healthcare Centre |
5,084 |
94% |
96% |
3.8% |
|
Stettler Hospital and Care Centre |
3,488 |
96% |
92% |
1.1% |
|
Strathmore District Health Services |
7,648 |
77% |
70% |
2.7% |
|
Sturgeon Community Hospital |
10,632 |
60% |
37% |
6.6% |
|
Sundre Hospital and Care Centre |
2,196 |
88% |
95% |
1.9% |
|
Swan Hills Healthcare Centre |
978 |
98% |
100% |
0.0% |
|
Taber Health Centre |
2,135 |
96% |
97% |
2.3% |
|
Three Hills Health Centre |
3,759 |
54% |
83% |
1.5% |
|
Tofield Health Centre |
1,836 |
90% |
71% |
1.1% |
|
Two Hills Health Centre |
1,385 |
93% |
84% |
1.7% |
|
Valleyview Health Centre |
4,167 |
80% |
87% |
0.7% |
|
Vermilion Health Centre |
2,275 |
94% |
92% |
0.2% |
|
Viking Health Centre |
1,502 |
97% |
96% |
1.1% |
|
Vulcan Community Health Centre |
1,035 |
93% |
98% |
0.6% |
|
Wabasca/Desmarais Healthcare Centre |
2,642 |
96% |
94% |
2.1% |
|
Wainwright Health Centre |
3,950 |
97% |
94% |
0.9% |
|
Westlock Healthcare Centre |
3,968 |
93% |
65% |
0.1% |
|
Westview Health Centre - Stony Plain |
8,192 |
67% |
6% |
6.0% |
|
Wetaskiwin Hospital and Care Centre |
7,930 |
92% |
87% |
3.7% |
|
Whitecourt Healthcare Centre |
4,467 |
35% |
93% |
0.0% |
|
William J.Cadzow - Lac La Biche Healthcare Centre |
3,664 |
97% |
99% |
1.7% |
|
Peer Group Aggregate |
275,252 |
86% |
83% |
2.4% |
|
Peer Group: Rural Ambulatory |
||||
|
Coaldale Health Centre |
338 |
99% |
0% |
0.6% |
|
Fort MacLeod Health Centre |
890 |
91% |
0% |
4.7% |
|
Grimshaw/Berwyn District Community Health Centre |
3,546 |
81% |
0% |
0.7% |
|
Milk River Health Centre |
628 |
85% |
0% |
0.5% |
|
Rainbow Lake Health Centre |
1,080 |
99% |
0% |
0.0% |
|
St.Mary's Health Care Centre |
46 |
100% |
0% |
0.0% |
|
Peer Group Aggregate |
6,528 |
87% |
0% |
1.1% |
|
All Sites Aggregate |
514,173 |
77% |
51% |
4.4% |
- Northern Lights Regional Health Centre data are unavailable at this time – will be updated in later reports.
- All values for Queen Elizabeth II Hospital are based on available data and will be subject to change.
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Performance Report
This report presents a range of indicators which have been collected to demonstrate the overall performance of the provincial health system, as managed by AHS.
How Busy Are We?
How Are We Doing?
