An Express Lane for Emergency Health Care

An express lane for emergency health care is not a new idea, but one garnering positive results at Burnaby Hospital’s emergency department. The idea behind this innovative model is one based on successful cases at hospitals throughout Canada.

Introduced to Burnaby Hospital at the start of 2009, the emergency ‘fast track’ was put in place to speed up wait times for patients entering the emergency department. The restructuring included the new SuperTrack (an area open eleven hours a day dedicated to those with minor ailments), the Rapid Assessment Zone (where patients requiring further examination are seen), and an Acute Care area (for serious cases).

“It’s about future planning,” says Elizabeth Findlay, Manager of Burnaby Hospital’s Emergency Department. “Our emergency department cares for the highest number of over 75 year olds in all of Fraser Health. So, having this population coming through the emergency department brings its own challenges.”

Within the last year, Burnaby Hospital saw over 65,000 patients through the emergency department. The figure represents a majority of patients from Burnaby, with the second largest group of patients coming from East Vancouver at approximately thirty percent.

For Burnaby’s growing population of about 200,000, the number of emergency visits is slated to increase in the years to come. The community has one of the largest aging populations in Metro Vancouver with a rising number of elders in the community. This growing demand for health care services presents a looming challenge for the community hospital.

“We have one of the busiest emergency departments in the province and one of the shortest patient wait times in the health region,” Findlay says, noting the improvements made to the emergency department are helping to deal with increasing demand. “I believe success is rooted in improving the patient journey – seeing and caring for our patients promptly, which results in shorter stays. And to date, the feedback has been positive.”