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‘Why Wait?’ – A campaign to promote health-care options available
(MONCTON) April 11, 2017 - The Moncton Hospital (TMH) is pleased to announce the launch of a new campaign to raise awareness about the various health-care options available to patients in the Moncton area in an effort to work towards reducing congestion and wait times in the hospital's Emergency Room (ER).
TMH ER is one of the busiest emergency departments in the province. Last year, TMH ER treated close to 57,000 patients - more than the number of patients seen in the same time period at the Toronto General ER. On average, approximately one in four patients presenting at the TMH ER have non-urgent symptoms and could receive faster treatment elsewhere.
"We recognized there was a real opportunity to help raise awareness about the various health-care options available to patients in our community," says Dr. Serge Melanson, Chief of Staff, Moncton Area, Horizon Health Network. "It's important that patients know if their condition isn't urgent, they have options other than the ER."
The public awareness campaign asks patients with non-urgent symptoms 'Why wait in the ER?' when they can often receive faster treatment through their family physician or nurse practitioner, by making an appointment at an after-hours/walk-in clinic, consulting with a pharmacist, or by calling Tele-Care 811 and speaking with a registered nurse.
"We hope the public awareness campaign will help patients gain a better understanding of all the health-care options available to them and how to choose the right health-care provider for their particular circumstance," says Dr. Melanson. "We all want to see shorter wait times in the ER, and I have no doubt we can achieve that by working together."
TMH has also introduced a pilot program called the ER Community Redirect for patients who have come to the ER and been assessed by ER staff as non-urgent and may qualify to be offered a redirect for treatment at an alternative health-care service in the community. If the patient accepts the offer of a redirect, ER staff will schedule an appointment for the patient with their family physician, nurse practitioner or an after-hours clinic, for either the same day or within 24 hours.
Patients can find more information about the various health-care options available in the Moncton area and how to access them by visiting www.SoWhyWait.ca .
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For more information:
Stephanie Neilson-Levesque
Media Relations
1-877-499-1899