All hospitals follow standard procedures for assessing patients when they arrive in the emergency department. Those with potentially life-threatening conditions – such as heart attacks and strokes – are normally treated right away.
But once the decision is made that a patient requires further care in the hospital – to be admitted – this individual may have to wait on a stretcher in the emergency department until a bed becomes available in one of the hospital wards.
As more and more patients wait for beds, the emergency department will become increasingly crowded, which can be uncomfortable for them, and may delay care for newly arriving patients because staff and stretchers are occupied with the admitted patients and their care needs.
Source: Globe and Mail