The Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Grande Prairie (EverythingGP file photo)

By Shaun Penner

Peaked at 150 per cent capacity

QEII Hospital’s ICU busy during COVID’s second wave

Apr 22, 2021 | 11:45 AM

Alberta’s health minister says the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Grande Prairie was busy during the second wave of COVID-19, similar to other urban hospitals with Intensive Care Unit spaces.

This comes from data submitted by Health Minister Tyler Shandro in a letter to Grande Prairie City Council, following a request made by council back in January as they sought more detailed information as it relates to Grande Prairie’s healthcare capacity amid COVID-19’s second wave.

Shandro said when it comes to average Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Critical Care Unit (CCU) usage at the hospital so far in 2021, it has been “significantly higher” than normal, like other hospitals with ICU/CCU spaces.

The QEII hospital is one of two hospitals in the North Zone with ICU bed spaces, the other being Fort McMurray.

Shandro notes prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, average occupancy rates at the QEII fluctuated between 75 and 85 in the ICU/CCU.

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“In December 2020 and January 2021, the maximum ICU/CCU utilization average was 93 per cent in December 2020 and 116 per cent in January 2021,” notes Shandro, in the letter. “The highest unit occupancy experienced during this time was 150 per cent at the peak of wave two activity.”

He adds that not all patients in the ICU during that time were COVID-19 patients, also noting that occupancy in the unit fluctuates hour by hour.

Shandro also says all other adult inpatient beds have an average occupancy of 97 per cent so far this year. That has fluctuated to as high as 101.

As the third wave continues to roll through northwestern Alberta, Shandro notes surge capacity measures are in place should the hospital see a rise in demand.

“Additional ‘flex’ patient rooms not typically used as part of the hospital’s regular capacity have been made available,” said Shandro. “On QEII’S ICU/CCU unit, 30 per cent of the rooms are designated as flex spaces.”

With that information now at hand, Grande Prairie Mayor Jackie Clayton says she and council appreciate getting a response to their request for information, noting she wasn’t surprised by anything she read in the letter.

“The statistics were great information,” said Clayton, adding the letter confirmed the constant fluctuation the hospital, specifically the ICU/CCU, sees on an hour-by-hour basis.

“The statistics are continually moving and at any given day the numbers could be as they were shown in front of us, or they could be substantially different.”

As of April 19, 42 people were in hospital for COVID-19 in the North Zone, eight of whom were in the ICU.