Patients have been placed in the maternity and the children’s ward to help deal with the bed crisis at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

On Thursday afternoon, Bermuda Hospitals Board CEO Venetta Symonds stated that every single bed in the hospital’s emergency department and the new acute care wing was full.

Meanwhile, as of 9am yesterday 11 patients deemed medically fit for discharge were still in acute care beds, a BHB spokesperson revealed.

“The best solution, both clinically and financially, is for Bermuda to have more community nursing home placements and a more extensive home care service,” the spokesperson added.

Caring for people in hospital is expensive and the longer they stay the higher the risk of hospital-acquired infections, so it means individuals are left in an institutional setting when they could have a better quality of life in a home setting.

“Moving patients out of BHB when they are ready is better for them and for Bermuda. This would leave BHB with adequate capacity for surges.”

In response to questions from The Royal Gazette yesterday, BHB stated it would never turn away a patient or deny them treatment.

The spokesperson added: “The time in which patients are attended to in the emergency department depends on the acuity of their conditions. Those with the highest acuity are treated first. This has not changed.”

BHB also confirmed it was working on a contingency plan of how to deal with the expected increase in patient numbers during the America’s Cup.

The spokesperson added: “The issue is that a significant number of inpatients at BHB are non-acute at any one time and this was identified in extensive research on hospital inpatients as the new hospital was planned.

“There are not enough community nursing homes to accept some people when they no longer need acute care, or families are unable or unwilling to accept them home.

“These individuals do not need acute care but may have some medical requirements. The hospital cares for them when there are no other options as we cannot in good conscience release people who could be hurt or get sick again if they are discharged to an inappropriate setting.

“There are clinical advantages to separating these patient groups. Clinical teams are now able to provide more efficient, focused care.”