North Bay hospital dealing with bed crisis, expect long waits in the emergency dept.

The North Bay Regional Health Centre said Tuesday that it "is experiencing an unprecedented surge in patient volumes, resulting in a bed crisis."

The hospital said in a news release that it is making temporary changes to deal with the crisis "to ensure all of our patients receive safe and high-quality care."

"As the pressure on the health care system continues to be unpredictable, it’s important for our community to know that some patients could be waiting in our emergency department for days and may need to be cared for in an unconventional space," the release said.

The crisis could also mean patients requiring admission may need to stay in emergency.

"Some patients could be transferred to hospitals outside of our district (and) patients arriving by ambulance may also face long delays in being offloaded," the release said.

"The Health Centre has temporarily stopped accepting transfers from other facilities."

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In the long term, the hospital is working with partners including Ontario Health, other hospitals in the region and community partners, "to move some of our alternate level of care patients to a more appropriate place of care such as a long-term care facility."

"As always, we are grateful for the significant investments made by the Ontario government to ensure we have sustainable, long-term solutions for providing the right care in the right place," the release.

"Our exceptional team of physicians and other health-care providers are working diligently to provide the best care possible to all of our patients."