Quinte Health continues to navigate through “historic” levels of service demand.
In a report that President and CEO Stacey Daub presented at Quinte Health’s Board of Directors annual meeting on Tuesday, it states that the health organization continues to navigate through “historic levels of services, bed occupancy and operational pressures.”
The report says that emergency department volumes were higher in 2023/2024 relative to the last two years, translating to medical and surgical inpatient bed occupancy rates that exceed 100% of Quinte Health’s funded bed capacity, which averages 132%.
Speaking with Quinte News, Daub says the growth has been seen across the province as they address surgical backlogs mostly brought on by the pandemic.
But Daub says the Quinte region has its own unique set of circumstances as to why it sees demand at high levels.
“Quinte Health has a unique set of circumstances with its aging population, with the burden of chronic illness in our community and lastly, due to the fact that often we talk about that there are many services here that need to be built and grown to match the growth of our population,” Daub explained.
“Those are things like primary care, mental health and addiction support, and home care. We are working really hard with our community partners and with the ministry to make sure that we can think about getting investments in the community.”
According to the report, the population in the Quinte region is expected to grow by 60,000 people by 2050. The senior population in particular is expected to grow by 50 per cent within the next 30 years.
Over the last four years, Quinte Health says it has seen a 14 per cent increase in Emergency Department visits, a 41 per cent increase in inpatient medicine days, a 24 per cent increase in surgical cases, and a 36 per cent increase in cancer care services.
In a separate audit report filed at the Board of Directors meeting, the organization is reporting a $6.6 million deficit for the year due to what it calls a “structural funding gap” from the operation of its unfunded and underfunded medicine beds in operation at the health organization’s four hospitals.
Despite the deficit, Daub says the organization is reassured by the response it is receiving from Ontario Health and the Ministry of Health.
“They are working extremely hard to support the increased demand and are working collaboratively with us on the funding front, while also investing in other areas of healthcare in the community to help ensure patients get the right care in the right places.”
