Bluewater Health is limiting surgeries and procedures amidst a rise in COVID-19 cases across Sarnia-Lambton.
Effective immediately, Bluewater Health will only be completing urgent and emergent surgeries, as well as oncology-related surgical procedures.
Chief of Communications and Public Affairs Julia Oosterman said the increased demand on the ICU and medicine units has resulted in some staff redeployments within the hospital, forcing the need to delay non-urgent surgeries and procedures.
"Holidays traditionally are a time when there are a lot of patients in the hospital, and certainly right now with upper-respiratory issues being very prevalent and COVID being on the rise, the hospital is seeing a capacity concern for sure," she said.
Oosterman said the situation will be reviewed on a weekly basis.
"I really wish we could predict how long this pause is going to last," said Oosterman. "In the past we've had it last many, many weeks and we've had also shorter ones. It completely depends on how COVID is handled in our community and whether we're at the top of the wave right now, or whether we're coming down the other side."
Affected patients will be notified by their specialist to cancel or reschedule their appointment.
The Pat Mailloux Eye Centre in Petrolia remains open, however cataract surgeries have been cancelled for the month of January.