Some individuals with surgeries scheduled at the London Health Sciences Centre in the next 24 hours or so, may receive a call that their procedure is being put on hold.
Late Tuesday afternoon, LHSC said it has cancelled all elective surgeries and some procedures for the remainder of the day and all of Wednesday, March 22 to investigate and come up with a solution to an issue with the sterilization of surgical trays identified by the hospital's Medical Device Reprocessing team.
"Any patient whose procedure is impacted will receive direct communication from their care team," read a release from LHSC. "Patients who have not been contacted should come to their scheduled appointment."
Hospital officials say the risk the issue has to patients is considered low, however the cancellations are being made out of an abundance of safety.
"We deeply apologize to our patients and their care partners for this disruption – we know that having a surgery postponed or rescheduled can be stressful and challenging for many reasons," the release continued.
LHSC said it will have an update for the community regarding the issue on Wednesday.