Planning for gradual resumption of services paused during Third Wave of COVID-19
Posted May 19, 2021
Today, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health rescinded Directive #2 for Health Care Providers (which requested ramping down of non-emergent and non-urgent surgeries and procedures) to enable hospitals to cautiously and gradually begin resuming non-urgent day surgeries not requiring inpatient care and meeting further criteria outlined by Ontario Health. See message here.
St. Joe’s surgical team and partners across the hospital have been working with local and regional partners to carefully plan how surgical services can be gradually increased in the coming weeks and months in a way that is safe for our community. This is done using an ethical framework provided by the Ontario government, which considers many factors such as the patient’s condition, implications of delaying care, equity of services and impact on vulnerable populations.
Like everyone, we are pleased to see a trending downward of COVID-19 cases in this province, and locally in Hamilton. However, COVID-19 numbers remain very high, and we continue to care for many critically ill COVID-19 patients in our Intensive Care Unit. While we are optimistic that the situation is moving in a positive direction, we must continue to evaluate the needs of our community, and pressures on our hospital resources, and our healthcare workers.
Patients will be contacted by their doctor if there are any changes to their plan of care. We understand this is a difficult time for many, and thank you again for your continued patience.
In the event of a medical emergency, please call 911 or go to an Emergency Department or Urgent Care Centre.