About two thirds of patients who were medically fit for discharge from hospital awaited nursing home placements yesterday, the Bermuda Hospitals Board said.

A spokeswoman added that the situation continued to “significantly impact” the BHB’s ability to offer appropriate spaces to new patients.

The board added that it remained on alert level 3 — with 4 being the highest — as pressure on acute care and emergency services was still high.

It was announced last Thursday that King Edward VII Memorial Hospital was placed on alert because of overcrowding.

At that time, 36 patients who could be discharged remained in acute care beds, while 21 admitted patients waited in emergency for those same beds.

On July 7, 115 people presented at the emergency department, which was the highest number in a single day this year. Average attendance is 85 to 87 patients a day.

An increase in Covid-19 cases also contributed to the problem, the BHB said last week.

A spokeswoman said that at 3pm yesterday, there were 16 admitted patients who were waiting for an inpatient bed to become available.

She added: “There are 34 patients in acute care beds who are medically fit for discharge.

“About two thirds of those patients are waiting for a nursing home placement in the community.

“This continues to significantly impact our ability to place newly admitted patients in the acute care beds they need.

“Our multidisciplinary teams are working to facilitate safe discharges wherever possible.”

The spokeswoman said that although visits to the emergency department remained high, they had decreased on average over the previous six days.

From July 8 to 13, there were about 82 visits to the department per day.

“On Thursday, we saw the lowest daily volume for July, at 68 patients,” the spokeswoman said.

“This was also the day on which we saw the highest number of critically ill patients, including heart attacks, strokes and major trauma.

“However, we continue to see many lower acuity patients visiting emergency instead of their GP or another community provider.

“Over the past week, around 40 per cent of patients attending the emergency department could have been managed by a GP.

“We continue to encourage members of the public to use appropriate healthcare services to help reduce pressure on the emergency department and ensure faster care for those with urgent needs.”

She added: “The BHB remains at alert level 3 as pressure on the BHB’s acute care and emergency services is still high.

“We are grateful to our frontline staff, who continue to provide safe, compassionate care in challenging circumstances.

“While our mitigation efforts are helping to ease some of the pressure and ensure those who need care most urgently are prioritised, we still need help from the community to discharge those who are medically fit and to ensure only patients who require emergency care visit the emergency department.”