A surge in respiratory illnesses locally is causing emergency department delays at Windsor Regional Hospital.
The hospital is operating over 100 per cent capacity as the emergency department deals with a number of respiratory illnesses.
The hospital typically sees a bump in cases of COVID-19, Influenza, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus - or RSV - during this time of year that will likely stay elevated until the spring.
There are no active outbreaks of COVID-19 at the hospital, but currently 22 patients have COVID - which is 10 less patients than last year at this time.
However, the hospital is seeing a bump in RSV and Influenza cases, with eight RSV cases and five Influenza cases at this time.
Dr. Wassim Saad, Chief of Staff at Windsor Regional Hospital, says not all respiratory viruses will require admission into the hospital.
"Making sure that you are able to look after yourself either at home, seeking out primary care in the community, or urgent care in the community. And then only if it's really severe, and you're not able to manage your symptoms would we expect you to show up in the emergency room that would require care in the hospital."
Karen Riddell, acting president and CEO at Windsor Regional Hospital, says they've seen increases.
"What we are seeing though is a bump up in RSV, so we had a bump up just around Christmas time and then it dropped off, and now we're starting to see more, so we've got about eight RSV cases in the hospital right now. And we are seeing a bump up in our Influenza cases, so we've got five, which is a big increase. Last week we had nine in the hospital."
Riddell says the emergency department is busy.
"We're probably seeing about 20 per cent more patients presenting to the emergency department then normal. We are seeing high numbers of admit-no-beds meaning people waiting once they're admitted in the emergency department. We're seeing prolonged wait times to get through the whole process. So, our staff are doing their best in the emergency department to see people as quickly as possible."
Both Saad and Riddell are reminding the community to stay up-to-date on their vaccinations, especially those who are high-risk.
A number of options are available to those in the community such as Health811, Health Care Connect, the Adult/Paediatric Emergency Virtual Clinic, as well as walk-in clinics and urgent care clinics in the area.
Windsor Regional Hospital's Emergency Department Wait Time Clocks are still active to show current wait times.