Photo courtesy of: www.prhc.on.ca
Peterborough Regional Health Centre has introduced a new Streamlined Treatment and Evaluation Pathway in its Emergency Department to improve care for patients with minor illnesses and injuries.
The program is designed to help reduce wait times and improve patient experience amid growing demand for emergency services.
Starting Monday, patients with minor conditions—including respiratory symptoms, minor limb injuries, and urinary tract infections—can complete an online survey before coming to the hospital to determine if they are eligible for STEP. The survey is available on the hospital’s website at prhc.on.ca or directly at https://redcap.link/PRHC_STEP.
Patients deemed eligible will receive a confirmation message and are asked to arrive at the Emergency Department as usual. At triage, they will show their STEP confirmation to the Registration Clerk. After eligibility is verified by a triage nurse, patients will be directed to a dedicated STEP area in the Green Zone waiting room, where they will be seen by a physician on a first-come, first-served basis.
Patients who complete the survey but are not eligible for STEP will be processed through the regular triage system. The STEP physician is available Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., providing focused care for minor cases to help free up resources in the main Emergency Department.
PRHC’s Emergency Department sees more than 75,000 patients annually, with a new patient arriving roughly every seven minutes. Rising patient volumes, increasing complexity, and higher acuity levels have contributed to longer wait times over the past decade.
“STEP is one of many initiatives our Emergency Department has taken on to help reduce wait times and patient length-of-stay,” said Jessica Jackson, Director of Emergency, Critical Care, Respiratory Services and Trauma at PRHC. “We want to ensure that we are able to streamline our patients in the most efficient way possible to improve their care and experience, and with the support of leadership and staff across the hospital, we will continue to invest in these and other efforts to make innovations like STEP possible.”
PRHC encourages patients to use the STEP survey for minor conditions, helping ensure timely care and reducing congestion in the Emergency Department for more urgent cases.
