Northern Health Asks You to Help Ease Pressure On Hospital
Prince George, B.C.- University Hospital of Northern BC is hoping folks will help reduce the pressure on its Emergency Room .
It is the time of the year, when the hospital sees an increase in the number of patients, “This time of the year, we often see an increase in the number of patients suffering from gastro-intestinal illness, flu, or suffering from slips and falls” says Northern Health spokesperson Jonathon Dyck. He says the public can help ease the pressure on the Hospital by easing the pressure on the Emergency Room.
Northern Health’s emergency rooms tend to patients who have experienced a sudden and/or unusual change in their health. This includes, but isn’t limited to, breathing difficulties, severe bleeding or pain, broken bones, chest pain and eye injuries.
Dyck says patients who aren’t sure whether their condition would warrant an emergency room visit, or who need health advice can call HealthLink BC (8-1-1), or visit www.HealthLinkBC.ca for non-emergency health information from nurses, dietitians, and pharmacists 24 /7.
Individuals who require emergency attention can call 9-1-1 for transport to the emergency department.
The public is also encouraged to utilize other community health services for non-immediate health care needs including their general practitioner or walk-in clinics.
Comments
Well if northern health would get rid of a couple hundred managers there would be more money for actual medical care rather than useless salaries
The walk-in at Superstore is amazing! I had to go there at the beginning of the month when I couldn’t get an appointment with my doctor. Super quick, clean and convenient with the pharmacy right there.
I agree that people often use the emergency for problems that could be helped at one of the two walk-in clinics available. The emergency department only has so much space, nevermind staff to work in it. P Val, I think your comment is out of whack!
Posted by: P Val on January 31 2014 7:19 AM
Well if northern health would get rid of a couple hundred managers there would be more money for actual medical care rather than useless salaries
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That won’t stop the real problem – that being the masses of people who abuse the system by running to the ER for every little bump, bruise or sniffle.
I like P Val’s comment Northern Health “is” very top heavy. Nurses and other health professionals are losing their jobs and not to far after, a new manager is hired or another assistant to a manager is hired. Northern Health and Govt can’t “afford” to give raises, but upper level northern health managers and operations members saw an average of $20,000 increase in salaries from last year to this year. Not to mention operation bonuses that aren’t disclosed. So before u criticize someone’s comments, ask a NH employee what REALLY goes on at the hospital and in Northern Health.
Posted by: stitch on January 31 2014 7:54 AM
I like P Val’s comment Northern Health “is” very top heavy. Nurses and other health professionals are losing their jobs and not to far after, a new manager is hired or another assistant to a manager is hired. Northern Health and Govt can’t “afford” to give raises, but upper level northern health managers and operations members saw an average of $20,000 increase in salaries from last year to this year. Not to mention operation bonuses that aren’t disclosed. So before u criticize someone’s comments, ask a NH employee what REALLY goes on at the hospital and in Northern Health.
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I have to call BS on the “nurses…are losing their jobs” statement.
It’s a bureaucracy; it’s top heavy. So is every other publicly funded institution.
stich – I did ask an NH employee, and an Interior Health employee as well. The emergency departments would be sufficient in both staff and size, if they were used for EMERGENCIES. Yes, there are times when things like flu outbursts, major accidents etc. etc. happen. I’m not saying you shouldn’t go to emergency, I’m saying, ask yourself if your situation is that bad that it can’t be resolved by other means. As for salaries, that is a whole different matter; one I believe, that the nurses take advantage of as well.
Emergency wards are full. Because they are free. IMO. Same as if the governments ran a tavern with free beer.
Isn’t the emerg always full after the last Wednesday of the month ?
Haven’t been to the new Safeway walk in clinic yet (that has to help in the daytime) but based on the old Spruceland clinic, the level of services in Prince George have a long way to go before they reach the level provided by clinics on the lower mainland … this link provides an example of a clinic in North Burnaby that sets a reasonable bar … http://www.kensingtonmedicalclinic.com/ … wait times at this clinic are less than at Emergency services (excepting for real Emergencies) … so it is a first choice for the minor situations
http://www.kensingtonmedicalclinic.com/
Sorry … I forgot the tags
P.G. has a Safeway ?
Harbinger: “Emergency wards are full. Because they are free. IMO. Same as if the governments ran a tavern with free beer.”
You equate health care with beer? Bet your old high school teachers are proud. If you had any . . .
I agree that many publicly funded institutions can be somewhat top-heavy with management, but having some familiarity with NH, I agree with those who have the opinion that it is waaaaay too management heavy. They have several building scattered around the downtown with entire floors of management and support staff, including much of the Royal Bank building among others. I don’t know about nurses losing their jobs, though there have been some job losses in nursing over the past couple of years, but they really do need to do something about the structure of their hierarchy.
middle finger caught me daydreaming while typing …. Safeway should read Superstore ….
Beer is a commodity. Health care isn’t? Economics 101, pal.
It took three days for my mum to get screws put in her broken foot. How can they say broken bones are priority I call BS. Then they give you an appointment and a time you come in and have to take a number wtf then you don’t get to see anyone for hours. The appointment wasfor 9 am and ddidn’t see anyone till noon? And last time I was in emerged I over herd nurses complaining that they hated working there.
“They (- NH -) have several building scattered around the downtown with entire floors of management and support staff, including much of the Royal Bank building among others.”
Probably part of the overall downtown revitalization effort! Must cost a taxpayers’ fortune for parking!
(Just kidding…).
Nice buses too.
I can well believe Northern Health is vastly overpopulated with managers. That could included a team of managers overlooking other managers and so on.
The effects of this is that funds may not be available for the ‘trench workers’ = those that really count.
May I be so bold as to suggest that Northern Health be reduced (back) to the Northern Health Unit; each hospital be set up as their own business centre where they can hire, fire, purchase and sell as they see fit. Horrors, they could end up with a profit! Their fees would be based on established tarrifs. But, if they could staffing would be based on local needs and conditions, the waiting queues may end up very short. Perhaps it is time to check out the Swedish system.
How about also allowing private investments in the infrastructure. Oh, oh, someone could make a buck here.
What we have now has grown into a behemoth that onle serves a chosen few and mostly no other. Time to start thinking out of the box.
Harbinger: “Beer is a commodity. Health care isn’t? Economics 101, pal.”
Health care is an essential service. For you, perhaps beers is, too. I suspect most of us don’t have trouble distinguishing between an essential service and a commodity. Economics 102, pal.
Posted by: PrinceGeorge on January 31 2014 10:46 AM
“They (- NH -) have several building scattered around the downtown with entire floors of management and support staff, including much of the Royal Bank building among others.”
Probably part of the overall downtown revitalization effort! Must cost a taxpayers’ fortune for parking!
(Just kidding…).
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Most (if not all) Northern Health employees who work downtown pay their own parking. Those who were using the city lots saw the same dramatic increase as Joe and Josephine Public.
So who is the largest employer in P.G. ?
-School district #57 ?
-Canfor ?
-CN ?
-The City ?
-Northern Health?
I’ll guess Northern Health
Posted by: middle finger on January 31 2014 1:58 PM
So who is the largest employer in P.G. ?
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I’d say the provincial government is the largest.
Well yes. We can break that down a little more. There is no disputing this is a government town.
Posted by: middle finger on January 31 2014 2:06 PM
Well yes. We can break that down a little more. There is no disputing this is a government town.
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Northern Health can be broken down into it’s different divisions as can the provincial government.
Where’s gus when we really need him?
I do agree that emergency is being used for non emergency issues, but as you can’t get a doctor and there are no walk in clinics open 24 hrs emergency is some peoples only choice… We must remember in emergency people are seen in the order of medical needs..
Axman…Gus is exactly where we need him… That’s why no cut and pastes from him…lol
Most of the comments seem to be blaming Northern Health for critical limits being reached in their emergency room.
Umm… did anyone know that the Federal Government is partly responsible for providing health care funding to the provinces through transfer payments?
Yup; “The office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer released a report Thursday highlighting the extent to which provincial governments will increasingly struggle to balance their books and pay for health care in the coming years, partly due to the federal Conservative governmentâs decision to trim the growth in health transfers to the provinces.”
This news is over a year old! Guess their predictions are spot on!
http://o.canada.com/news/0928-pbo-provinces/
Where do get “Health Care is free” don’t you
pay any Premiums , I do to the Tune of over 1200 Bucks a Year! Plus all the other Social
Service Tax.
I don’t suppose someone has actual numbers for the various types of employees of Northern Health?
Here’s hoping that our breweries keep thinking that the beer they produce is based on it being an “essential service” concept for us.
Speaking of breweries, I drove by Pacific Western Breweries today and thought to myself; what a great place to holdup in and defend against the zombie hoard during the next zombie apocalypse.
Fighting zombies, apparently, can be thirsty work :-D
Here’s to the start of a good weekend :-)
http://i.istockimg.com/file_thumbview_approve/7933508/2/stock-illustration-7933508-zombie-wearing-suit-drinking-glass-of-beer.jpg
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