With the flu shot for 2018 reportedly only finding a success rate of about 20 percent of the anticipated flu season to this point, the rush to access medical assistance at emergency room facilities is starting to put some stresses on those locations.
In late January, the Health Authority offered up a public reminder about appropriate emergency department use, noting that due to seasonal conditions, hospitals were experiencing an increase in patients.
To help alleviate some of that stress to the emergency rooms of the region, they outlined some of the medical conditions that should take you to 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, suspected overdoses, and eye injuries.
Northern Health provided these guidelines for residents of Northern BC to assess, to determine if they should be making use of emergency facilities at the hospital or making use of other options that are offered in the Northern Health delivery region.
Included in those notes, is a reminder that the flu shot can help reduce the impact of the seasonal illness, even if the flu seems to be winning so far this year.
While there have been no notes released from Northern Health about what conditions in Northwest BC are like at the moment, the situation has become increasingly more troublesome for Prince George and some of the Northern interior communities.
February 4 -- Influenza affecting more people than normal: Northern Health
February 2 -- Flu trouble help puts hospital into overdrive
January 30 -- Public reminder about appropriate emergency department use at UHNBC
January 30 -- ER at Prince George University Hospital overcrowded
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