An increase in respiratory illnesses is taking a bit of a toll on local hospitals. 

Grand River and Freeport hospitals have both brought in extra staff and beds to accommodate a rise in the number of patients seeking treatment.

About 45 additional beds have been brought in between the two hospitals.

Grand River Hospital had about 6,000 people come in to their emergency room in December alone.

Mark Karjaluoto, Director of Communications at Grand River Hospital says respiratory illness accounted for about 14 per cent of all emergency room visits at the hospital during the first week of 2017.

“In terms of respiratory illness which would include the flu we are experiencing a slight bump in terms of the number of cases that are coming in to our emergency department,” Karjaluoto said.

However Karjaluoto says the increase in the number of patients is not only due to respiratory illnesses.

“Because we’re such a diverse hospital it could be any number of different things. Kids get affected by respiratory illnesses which may or may not be the flu… broken bones… other chronic diseases… so it just leads to a lot more volume coming through the place in general,” he said.

St. Mary's Hospital is also dealing with added pressures.

In a statement to CTV News a hospital spokesperson said “We have seen an increase in patients requiring isolation for suspected or confirmed influenza. We are also seeing more cases of pneumonia this year.”

Mark Karjaluoto says staff expects admissions to be higher in winter months and work hard to meet the demand.

“This is fairly normal in terms of the winter season. We plan for it; we end up increasing the amount of spending that we’re doing through about December to March because we just know that it’s going to be busier between broken bones, influenza, and a few other things that are going on,” Karjaluoto said.

Many people can treat illnesses such as the flu at home by themselves.

However elderly patients or those with chronic health problems often require treatment in hospital.

With reporting by Carina Sledz.