Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital says ER is at ‘critical capacity’

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — As hospital emergency rooms work through capacity issues and limited bed space, an email labeled ‘critical’ sent by Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital paints a grim picture of what medical staff is enduring amid rising COVID-19 cases.

In an internal email issued to employees on Friday, the hospital said it has 90 patients in its 20-bed emergency department with more than 50 people waiting for a bed.

“We need and request that the entire medical staff rally together to help,” read the email obtained by.

The hospital is asking that staff see all inpatient consults within two hours of a consultation request.

“If additional testing and/or treatments are needed that are not urgently related to the current admission, please arrange for them to be performed after discharge as an outpatient,” read the email.

Houston Methodist Hospital told ABC13 on Thursday that staff is having to treat patients in hallways and waiting rooms.

Meanwhile, Harris Health System said LBJ Hospital has been operating under an ‘internal disaster’ code on an on-and-off basis since Sunday.

Plus, Schlueter said wait times are soaring.

“To get a bed, it could be up to 24 hours right now,” he said.=