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Time Spent in the Emergency Department
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For detailed information on public reporting of emergency room wait times across Ontario, please visit the Ontario government website www.ontariowaittimes.com. |
Mount Sinai Hospital is committed to continuously improve the delivery of safe, excellent and efficient emergency care to each of our patients. We are strong supporters of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s strategy to reduce wait times in our Emergency Department and have implemented several initiatives over
the last few years to improve emergency wait times.
Our efforts are resulting in reductions in the overall length of stay in the emergency department. At the same time, the number of visits to our emergency department is continuing to increase. In 2009, Mount Sinai saw almost 47,000 patients in our emergency department. More than 9,600 of those patients arrived by ambulance.
Time spent (or length of stay) in the Emergency department measures the total time a patient is in the department for a particular visit. There are a number of different factors* that influence the length of stay a person might have in any emergency department including the current volume of patients in the emergency department:
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the complexity of the symptoms presented by the patient
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the type and/or number of diagnostics, i.e. x-rays etc. required
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whether the patient requires admission to the hospital
*not an exhaustive list
How is the time spent in the Emergency Department measured?
The time spent in the emergency department is defined as the time interval between when the patient is triaged and when the patient is discharged or is admitted to the hospital. The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care reports length of stay in three separate groupings, which are:
- Length of stay for all emergency department visits
- Length of stay for patients who are admitted to the hospital
- Length of stay for complex conditions vs. patients with minor or uncomplicated conditions
Mount Sinai Hospital has been monitoring length of stay for patients in the emergency department for many years as part of our reporting process to the Canadian Institute for Health Information. The Hospital reviews this information on a quarterly basis on the hospital’s balanced scorecard. The table below provides a detailed review of time spent in the emergency department.
Time Spent in the Emergency Department
for diagnosis, treatment or hospital
bed admission
conditions requiring less time
for diagnosis, treatment or observation
Percentile*
LHIN ED LOS 90th Percentile
Percentile*
Percentile
Apr. - Jun. 2008
6,659
18.8
20.6
4,660
6.4
6.5
Jul. - Sept. 2008
6,549
16.5
17.8
5,061
6.0
6.3
Oct. - Dec. 2008
6,165
16.1
16.5
4,413
5.9
5.8
Jan. - Mar. 2009
6,590
14.9
17.5
4,194
6.4
6.4
Apr. - Jun. 2009
6,913
14.9
16.5
4,534
6.1
6.3
Jul. - Sept. 2009
6,935
13.7
15.8
4,724
6.0
5.6
Oct. - Dec. 2009
6,660
12.5
14.8
4,593
5.3
5.6
Jan. - Mar. 2010
6,993
14
14.6
3,889
5.3
5.6
Apr. - Jun. 2010
7,353
11.1
12.9
4,327
4.8
5.2
Jul. - Sept. 2010
7,680
11.6
13.8
4,810
4.6
5.0
Oct. - Dec. 2010
7,836
11.7
13.2
3,901
4.4
5.1
Jan. - Mar. 2011
8,199
11.4
13.6
3,467
4.5
5.3
Apr. - Jun. 2011
8,535
11.9
12.3
4,025
4.2
4.9
Jul. - Sept. 2011
9,199
11.8
12.3
4,133
4.3
4.8
Oct. - Dec. 2011
8,903
10.6
12.3
3,851
4.3
4.7
*the 90th percentile reflects the maximum amount of time 9 out of 10 patients spend in the emergency department
What are we doing to improve our length of stay in the Emergency Department?
Mount Sinai balances the improvement of the time spent in the Emergency department with increases in the number of patients who come to the Hospital for emergency treatment. Mount Sinai aims to continue improving time spent in the Emergency department while balancing efficient treatment and safe, quality care of our patients. A number of improvement initiatives have been put in place including:
- Implementation of a Rapid Assessment Zone for moderately acute patients
- Collaboration with external partners such as Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Community Care Access Centre (CCAC)
- Implementation of policies and procedures in response to problems and anticipation of wait time initiatives.
- Creation of an “Offload nurse” position to help ambulances return to the streets
- Development of hospital-wide bed flow policies
- Creation of a “Patient flow” coordinator position
- Ongoing process re-design to manage volumes
- Signs throughout the department to describe reasons for waiting
- Nurse initiated diagnostics and interventions while waiting
Should you find yourself requiring care in Mount Sinai’s Emergency Department, our staff will attempt to provide the services you need in as efficient a manner as possible. If you have questions about any aspect of your care, please bring them to the attention of your nurse or physician. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we balance the needs of all of our patients.
Talk to us
We welcome your comments and feedback. If you have comments, questions or concerns, please contact our Patient Relations Unit at 416-586-4800 ext. 5066 or at patientrelationsunit@mtsinai.on.ca.