Provincial directives and increasing cases of COVID-19 locally and across the province are having an impact on some services at Grey Bruce Health Services.
The Chief Medical Officer of Health for the Province of Ontario announced that hospitals must pause all pre-scheduled, non-urgent surgeries and procedures effective January 5th.
"We recognize that this provincial order causes stress for our patients who have been waiting for their elective procedures, and as soon as we are able, we will work to re-book these appointments," said Gary Sims, GBHS President and CEO. "In the meantime, all urgent and emergency surgeries and procedures will be provided, 24/7 as per usual."
At this time, these services are expected to resume by January 26th. This provincial directive does not affect diagnostic imaging such as x-rays, MRIs and CT scans.
All patients with pre-scheduled surgeries and procedures are being called by their doctor's office. GBHS is asking patients to wait for instructions rather than calling their doctor or the hospital.
Also, as of now, GBHS has reduced the number of visitors permitted in hospital to one per patient. Some exceptions apply for patients in palliative care, and for children.