Sudbury ER wait times higher than provincial average

The emergency room wait time at Health Sciences North in Sudbury is above the provincial average but in this case, being above average is not desirable.

The provincial average is around 11 hours, while Health Sciences North's wait time is more than 14 hours.

"We continue to work on that as an organization," said David McNeil, vice president of clinical programming and chief nursing officer.

"We know that this is a significant issue for our community. And a significant issue for access to patient care."

McNeil presented the information during a hospital board meeting Tuesday night.

"We need to all work together on this," he added. "This cannot be the hospital solution. It cannot be the North East CCAC Solution. It's got to be us working together with the community service sector."

Health Sciences North officials said they are expanding services in the community to try to keep patients from ending up in the emergency room. Plans include expanding its focus onhealth promotion to curb chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity and heart disease.