I have a return to written question asked by Mr. Moses on February 18, 2013, to the Honourable Tom Beaulieu, Minister of Health and Social Services, regarding alcohol and drug-related emergency hospital and health centre visits.
Health centre information is currently collected by the health and social services authorities. At this time there are no means to consolidate and report on this information on a territory-wide basis. The Department of Health and Social Services is examining options for a territory-wide system that
would permit for efficient and effective reporting of service delivery at health centres.
In 2011-12, there were 16,222 visits to the Stanton Territorial Health Authority (STHA) emergency department from NWT residents and 1,790 from other residents. In the current fiscal year up to December 31, 2012, there have been 11,736 visits to the STHA emergency department from NWT residents, and 1,232 from other residents.
In cases where the physician has indicated that the patient was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, it is important to note that it is often not the reason the patient arrived in the emergency department. It should also be noted that there could be instances where the same patient has presented several times over the reporting period of the same or differing diagnosis.
The number of emergency room visits at Stanton Territorial Hospital in 2011-12 where alcohol and/or drugs were a factor is as follows:
• Of the 16,222 NWT resident visits, 1,276 had
alcohol and/or drugs as a factor, and 28 also had an indication of a mental health disorder with self-harming or suicidal indications. Of these 1,276 patients,
o 833 were discharged home;
o 90 left against medical advice;
o 339 were transferred to an acute care
inpatient institution (this includes other acute, sub-acute, acute psychiatric, acute rehabilitation, acute cancer centre, acute pediatric centre, et cetera); and
o 14 were transferred to another institution
(this includes ambulatory care, palliative care facility/hospice, addiction treatment centre, jails, infants and children discharged/detailed by social services).
• Of the 1,790 non-NWT resident visits, 80 had
alcohol and/or drugs as a factor, and three also had an indication of a mental health disorder with self-harming or suicidal indications. Of these 80 patients,
o 60 were discharged home;
o Two left against medical advice; and
o 18 were transferred to an acute care
inpatient institution (this includes other acute, sub-acute, acute psychiatric, acute rehabilitation, acute cancer centre, acute pediatric centre, et cetera.)
The number of emergency room visits at Stanton Territorial Hospital in 2012-13 up to December 31, 2012, where alcohol and/or drugs were a factor is as follows:
• Of the 11,736 NWT resident visits, 606 had
alcohol and/or drugs as a factor, and three also
had an indication of a mental health disorder with self-harming or suicidal indications. Of these 606 patients,
o 445 were discharged home;
o 26 left against medical advice;
o 130 were transferred to an acute care
inpatient institution (includes other acute, sub-acute, acute psychiatric, acute rehabilitation, acute cancer centre, acute pediatric centre, et cetera); and
o Five were transferred to another institution
(includes ambulatory care, palliative care facility/hospice, addiction treatment centre, jails, infants and children discharged/detained by social services).
• Of the 1,232 non-NWT resident visits, 34 had
alcohol and/or drugs as a factor, and none had an indication of a mental health disorder with self-harming or suicidal indications. Of these 34 patients,
o 20 were discharged home;
o One left against medical advice; and
o 13 were transferred to an acute care
inpatient institution (this includes other acute, sub-acute, acute psychiatric, acute rehabilitation, acute cancer centre, acute pediatric centre, et cetera).
When a patient is discharged from the emergency department it should be noted that they are not usually discharged directly to a facility-based alcohol or drug treatment program. This is usually because they often require some kind of stabilization in the hospital before they can go into treatment. Once stabilized, they work with their primary care physician or health authority to access a facility-based alcohol and drug treatment program. Furthermore, due to the current coding structure, there is no way to break these statistics down further without a manual chart audit. To undertake a review of this nature, written consent for every patient would be required. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.