Eastern Health says emergency rooms in the metro region are continuing to experience pressures resulting in long wait times for patients.

The health authority is actively recruiting about 20 full-time and part-time registered nurses for emergency room positions at the Health Sciences and four positions at St. Clare’s.

A month ago, Eastern Health took the extraordinary step of asking patients to avoid showing up at the ER at HSC and St. Clare’s unless in case of an absolute emergency like a heart attack, stroke or broken limb.

The health authority indicated at the time that the two metro hospitals were experiencing “unprecedented pressures” leading to long wait times for patients.

Management says those pressures remain but are not limited to staffing issues. Eastern Health indicates that wait times at emergency departments are dynamic with “many contributing variables” that cause fluctuations including the volume of patients, the severity of the cases presenting at ERs, an increase in the number of people without a primary caregiver, the availability of beds in acute care, long-term care and in the community, and the availability of staff needed to maintain services.

They are continuing to ask patients who require non-urgent care to visit their doctor or a walk-in clinic, or call 811.