a ae

got the time. I
‘fresh air and

‘Lisa Petersen 4

North Vancouver.

: A water bed helps. A
. glass -of wine can be
relaxing,- too. .J. think
‘insomnia! “is sometimes

caused by personal stress. .

“Ifyou can solye your
personal problems, I'm

- sure you will sleep better.

(Craig Marchie
“ ‘North Vancouver

I find the most boring
“television program. That
oputs me to sleep quite
well.” Usually, it's Tom
“Snyder,

. } people waiting for elective
at Lions’ Gate Hospital — the highest

“to a” year for non-urgent

surgery, “Medical Coor-
dinator Dr. Jim Corbett told
the News in a telephone
interview Thursday. -

But the delay hasn't af-
fected . emergency
operations.

-Emergenty cases ‘are
admitted: ‘within an hour,
“urgent cases within two
- Says. “If a person needs an

- the

Peeecemeats call bladder,

hernia, appendix or other

‘minor - operations. And

‘unfortusiately; no short-term
solution is in sight.

The ‘backlog jis ‘caused
“primarily because many of
our acute care: beds . are
occupied by long term care
patients with no place else to
go,” explained Corbett.
Although that number has
presently dropped to 48, it
“usually is up around 60 to 65
beds.

LGH's. proposed $6
million Extended: Care Unit
expansion of another 169

‘beds, bringing the total to

294, is still.in the design.
Stage and -won’t be com-
pleted until 1983.

The proviticial govern-
ment has. an_ objective of
4.25 hospital’ beds per

‘thousand people: On paper,

LGH has a ratio of 3.3 beds
per thousand. But the need
to place extended care
patients in acute care beds
brings that ratia down to 2.9.

There just aren't enough
extended care beds ‘in the
community ‘to accomodate
the increasing demand, said
Corbett. . “We do have to

|. face the fact that our

population is increasing,

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Home, 594-6216.

particularly in the over 65
age group.”

In. 1972, LGH admitted ,
2,460 people over 65 years.
Last’ year that. had. risen to:
3,481, - But it isn't just that
the hospital admitted about
1,000: ‘more ‘people - in that.
age: group. “The average
hospital stay’ is much longer .
now.

The normal length of stay
in a hospital is 9.5 days. For
people over 65 years-it his
increased to between 20 to
30 days, Corbett said.

- -While improved: surgical
and anaesthetic techniques
have increased the amount
of minor surgery that can
now be performed in day
care, it doesn’t provide the
answer. Day care surgery
has jumped from 1,908 cases
. in 1972 to 4,272 operations

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The doctors are also
finding it increasingly
frustrating. The assignment
of a patient's surgical status
is left up to the doctor, not
the hospital, So the doctor
bears- the brunt of
exasperated patients.

Although Corbett said it is
possible to “adapt to adverse
conditions, this can’t. go on
‘forever:” .When LGH
planned its northern ex-
pansion a few years ago, it
was thought 456 beds would:
be adequate.

- But it is now obvious that
they aren't.

As the North Shore

population grows, combined

with the increasing demand
for long term care beds, and
more seriously ill people

“The conundrum that:
faces. everybody in
care. these days is.
nothing | can be done in.
short term.”

entering hospital and staying.

longer, LGH: cannot afford.

to utilize acute care beds
with extended care patients,
said Corbett. ~

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