If the flu has hit you, the best place to go is not your nearest hospital emergency room.
Instead, visit your family doctor: if you don’t have one, head to a local urgent care clinic.
But hundreds of sickly York Region residents have been packing local ERs over the past three weeks jamming up services and likely causing other patients to get the flu.
Susan Kwolek, executive vice president, chief operating officer and chief nursing executive of Mackenzie Health, urges patients to head straight to an urgent care facility if they suspect they have the flu.
She has seen Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital swamped to the gills lately. Part of the issue is the hospital’s emergency room was built to handle 80,000 yearly visits and sees 100,000 annually, so it already faces overcrowding. A flu epidemic just intensifies an already difficult situation, Kwolek said.
On Boxing Day the ER saw nearly 400 patients, about 70 more than usual and nearly a 25 per cent increase. And the flu epidemic currently sweeping the GTA didn't spare Mackenzie Health's urgent care clinic either. On New Year's Day it saw 90 patients, when 60 to 70 is par for the course.
Dr. David Rauchwerger, chief and medical director, emergency medicine program at Mackenzie Health said, “We've seen an even greater stress on the system than in even previous years.”
Southlake Regional Health Centre’s emergency department also saw 25 per cent more patients per day in December compared to the average for the rest of the year.
And at Markham-Stouffville Hospital, the emergency department also saw an increased numbers of patients.
There was a 30 per cent increase in the Markham-Stouffville ER, or 100 more patients than normal on the busiest days.
Kwolek said the spike in holiday-period visits to the ER isn't all related to the flu. Part of it is because primary care physicians and other health-care providers either close their offices or go on reduced hours for the holidays leaving the ER an option for patients.
The concern now that the holidays are over is the associate medical officer of health's prediction we're just at the beginning of a six-week surge of flu activity in the GTA.
With that in mind, Kwolek is urging anyone who hasn't yet received a flu shot to get one as soon as possible.
"It's not too late to get vaccinated. It takes two weeks to work. “
She also encourages people to remember to wash their hands, cover their mouths when coughing to prevent the spread of infection, keep surfaces clean and avoid sharing towels, glasses and plates.
“Be scrupulous about cold hygiene,” Kwolek said.
And if you are ill and come to hospital, Kwolek said you should put a mask on to hopefully prevent the spread of flu to others.
In the end, if you can’t arrange an appointment with your family doctor or get to an urgent care clinic, you’re of course welcome to come to the emergency department where you will be treated.
“Anybody who is really ill, come here,” Kwolek said.