Temporary Service Disruptions

Last updated: April 23, 2024

Unplanned, temporary service disruptions, including bed reductions, are not unusual for AHS - or any other health system - as services and beds are managed based on patient need, staffing levels, and acuity of patient health, in addition to many other factors. The system is dynamic, and we manage service availability on an hourly and daily basis.

Temporary Service Disruptions

Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Capacity

Last updated: April 23, 2024

This information is updated on Tuesdays at 5 p.m.

AHS continues to do all it can to ensure we have enough ICU capacity to meet patient demand.

Provincial ICU capacity is currently at 80%.

Historical Hospital Occupancy

The table below shows the historical annual occupancy of beds in all five zones since 2018. AHS uses this information to monitor, manage, and adjust the number of beds across the province based on factors like – seasonality, the availability of health care workers and other emerging issues.

*2021 is average to date
**2020/2021 - Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the total beds available were affected by isolation requirements.

The table shows that:

• Pre-COVID-19, 93% of beds were occupied in 2018 and 92% in 2019.
• In 2020 the total number of beds occupied by patients dropped to a low of 86% as the system purposely held beds to be able to respond to the needs of patients with COVID.
• The average number of beds occupied by patients in 2021 to date is 90%.
• Currently, 98% of acute care beds are in operation and 97.1% of emergency department spaces are in operation across the province.