Grey Bruce Health Services is working with physicians to address the growing list of scheduled health care services that had been postponed.
President and CEO Gary Sims said they will take a slow approach.
“We will not return to full services immediately – services will resume in phases over several weeks, and it will not be business as usual for some time,” said Sims.
A gradual resumption of services will allow GBHS to ensure a number of provincial conditions are met as staff and physicians work to restore services, including a sustained commitment to supporting long-term-care; adequate supplies of personal protective equipment; enough supplies of drugs for surgeries; the ability to quickly reduce services if a surge in COVID-19 occurs; and options for delivering care in new ways, including virtually.
GBHS will open up additional Operating Room time in Owen Sound and Meaford. Outpatient procedures such as endoscopies will resume in Owen Sound, Meaford, Southampton, and Wiarton over the coming days. Patients will hear directly from their surgeons’ offices about their new appointment times. Diagnostic tests, including CT scans, MRIs, and ultrasounds, will begin to be re-scheduled. The most urgent cases will be scheduled first.
The risk of exposure to COVID-19 within a GBHS hospital is very low. The last patient treated in hospital with the virus was discharged in mid-April. However, as a precaution, there are a number of measures in place to ensure patient and staff safety. People coming into a GBHS hospital are strongly encouraged to bring their own face covering or mask. These can be homemade masks or face coverings such as a scarf or buff, or commercially purchased items. Anyone who arrives in the hospital without a mask will be given a disposable mask. The public is reminded to conserve supplies of N95 masks and procedure masks for health care workers.
