An Ottawa hospital had to cancel three scheduled surgeries on Wednesday because there weren't enough beds to accommodate all of its patients.

Eight of the 11 surgeries scheduled at the Queensway-Carleton Hospital went ahead as planned. Those surgeries involved patients who were dealing with anything from cancer to joint replacements - who already had previous surgery dates cancelled.

"The situation that concerns us is when there's no room in the inn," said Dr. John Earle, chief of emergency at Queensway-Carleton Hospital.

"That means there's someone lying on every single stretcher and every single room in this department - and people are backing up at the door."

Earle says the hospital is cancelling surgeries every week because there's just not enough room for all its patients.

Busiest ER in the city

The Queensway-Carleton hospital has the busiest emergency room in the area and, similar to other Ottawa hospitals, there aren't enough beds to match the number of patients.

A bed shortage in the emergency room then backs up paramedics who need to admit patients so they can answer other ambulance calls in the city. As a last resort, surgeries end up being cancelled to free up beds for those patients.

"It's been pretty persistent since last May so we're now coming into the spring where we're expecting high volumes of patients again coming through (emergency) and expanded surgeries," said Leah Levesque, nurse manager for the Queensway-Carleton's emergency room.

Not enough space

The provincial government is putting money into Ottawa hospitals and the Queensway-Carleton just opened two new operating rooms with 12 more beds. But even with the investment, there just isn't enough space to keep up with the number of patients.

Although it's a problem officials are aware of, Earle says things won't change until more nursing and long-term care homes can be built to free up valuable hospital space.

There are 19 surgeries scheduled at the hospital for Thursday. On Thursday, those patients will find out whether or not they'll be receiving their operations.

With a report from CTV's Joanne Schnurr