BOSTON (WHDH) - Mass General Hospital and other medical facilities across the state say patients are waiting longer to get the care they need due to a capacity crisis that administrators are working to address.
At Mass General, administrators are asking for the state’s help, citing concerns as it deals with critical levels of overcrowding over the last 16 months, particularly in its emergency department.
Just last week, the emergency department had one of its most crowded days in its two centuries of caring for the community. Workforce shortages and seasonal upticks in illnesses are among the driving factors.
They also say the pandemic has exacerbated the issue.
“While hospital overcrowding has significantly affected patient care for many years…COVID-19 and the post-pandemic demand for care has escalated this challenge into a full-blown crisis,” administrators said in a statement.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health issued an official memo earlier this month, urging hospital to discharge patients as soon as its safe for them to be released.
But as the number of patients continues to increase, Mass General is requesting more resources, asking for permission to expand the number of inpatient beds.
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