Hospital Overcrowding Leads to Hospital-Acquired Infections

A new report released this week finds "untenable levels" of overcrowding in Ontario's hospitals. The report by the Ontario Health Coalition found that:

• More than 18,500 hospital beds have been closed since 1990.
• Ontario's hospital occupancy rate is 97.8%, compared to average occupancy rates of 75% for the rest of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.
• Ontario is fourth last in the OECD in numbers of hospital beds per person, followed only by Turkey, Chile and Mexico
• Ontario has the fewest hospital beds per person of any province in Canada.Hospital bed cuts have not been offset by increases in care outside of hospitals. Approximately 10,000 people are on wait lists for home care in Ontario and more than 23,000 people are on wait lists for long term care homes.
• Alternate Level of Care patients number 4,093 across Ontario, but 911 of these patients are waiting for care in hospital. Overcrowded emergency departments

The consequences of overcrowded hospitals include:

• Cancelled surgeries
• Coercive tactics used to force patients out of hospital against their choice
• Inappropriate staffing ratios
• Increased hospital-acquired infections
  
• Poorer health outcomes and increased mortality rates

Read the full report here.