St. Mary’s General Hospital pleads with public as patient volumes remain high

St. Mary's General Hospital in Kitchener has a message for anyone visiting its emergency department. 

Due to high patient volumes, the hospital has asked those seeking emergency care to come alone.

A social media post issued Wednesday night read in part, “If you are seeking emergency care, please do not bring someone with you into the department unless it's necessary.”

The hospital warned that visitors may be asked to leave if they're not required.

St. Mary's released more information on Thursday, stating it will temporarily limit the number of people accompanying patients to the emergency department except in exceptional circumstances. That includes patients who are critically ill, patients who are near end of life and acutely ill patients.

A further statement on behalf of Waterloo-Wellington hospitals said they all continue to experience increased patient volumes in their emergency departments. 

Regardless of which hospital you go to, patients will be prioritized based on urgency and those with less urgent needs should be prepared for longer wait times. 

The hospitals are asking the public to be patient and kind, “As we do our best to see you as soon as we can.”

St. Mary's said Wednesday evening, due to the ongoing situation, some elective surgeries have been cancelled. Patients are being contacted and their procedures will be re-booked as quickly as possible.