Northern Health prioritizes patient transfers according to care requirements

UPDATED March 17th, 11:17 a.m.: A previous version of this article included a misleading statement about the distances between communities in the northeast. Tumbler Ridge is the closest district to Prince George as the eagle flies, but Chetwynd General Hospital is in fact closer by road. This has now been clarified in the article below.

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Northern Health is trialing programs to speed up the transfer of patients who need a high level of care to hospitals in the northeast.

During the March 6th regional board meeting of the Peace River Regional District (PRRD) directors, CEO and president of Northern Health Ciro Panessa gave an update on the solutions the health authority was exploring for medical access and staff support. 

Panessa stated the health authority was setting up several “dedicated structures” for improving hospital flow and access, especially around patients needing a high level of medical care. 

“There [are] many physicians and clinical teams that will talk about having to hold someone for longer than they need to for a higher level of care.” 

Patients in communities throughout the northeast in need of a high level of care are often transferred to larger hospitals, and can be required to wait for ambulance transfers or even air travel, thus delaying their treatment. 

The CEO spoke about Northern Health exploring methods to transfer patients to the University Hospital of Northern British Columbia (UHNBC) in Prince George, which is the hospital that patients in need of a high level of care – otherwise known as definitive care – are transferred to. 

“We are starting up and trialing our own retrieval team out of [UHNBC] that could [be deployed] to speed up some critical transfers that need to get to the [UHNBC] hospital for definitive care,” Panessa said. 

The Northern Emergency Response Team has a limited range currently, only able to travel three hours by ground from the hospital. Further trialing and evaluation by Northern Health could extend the team’s range in the future. 

The closest Northern Health medical facility in the Peace River Region of northeast B.C. is the Chetwynd Hospital in the District of Chetwynd, about three and a half hours away by ground.

Northern Health is also working to expand virtual support for physicians through the Rural Coordination Centre of BC. 

The program provides virtual assistance for patients and physicians in various capacities throughout the province, and is currently implemented in Fraser Lake. In Prince George, virtual urgent primary care is being explored to support medical staff.