The London Health Sciences Centre is postponing all non-urgent and non-emergent surgeries at University Hospital as it tries to get a grip on a growing COVID-19 outbreak.
The hospital outlined a new series of measures Friday as it announced that the outbreak has been extended to two more units. The outbreak that began on the fourth floor general medicine unit now includes five other units, including the fourth floor multi-organ transplant unit and the sixth floor cardiovascular surgery unit.
All patients who had surgeries scheduled will be contacted by their care provider.
In addition to postponing non-urgent surgeries, the LHSC announced the following measures:
Enhanced surveillance COVID-19 testing for all staff and physicians who provide inpatient clinical care at University Hospital Masking of all admitted adult inpatients at University Hospital and Victoria Hospital Opening 24 beds at Victoria Hospital to provide additional capacity given reductions to admissions at University Hospital Temporarily suspending essential visitors and caregivers at University Hospital with some exceptions Temporarily suspending all student placements at University Hospital 4IP Opening additional break room spaces for staff and physicians to ensure appropriate physical distancing can be maintained while eating Limiting the movement of staff and physicians between units and hospitals
“We want to reassure the public that our precautions, practices, and protocols to address COVID-19 within the hospital continue to be followed carefully. On behalf of LHSC I also extend our deepest sympathy to the families of the two patients whose deaths were associated with these outbreaks,” LHSC President and CEO Dr. Paul Woods, said in a statement released Friday afternoon. "We fully acknowledge the impact these enhanced measures are having not only on our patients but also our staff and physicians. While we regret that these measures are necessary, they are the next step within a tiered outbreak response with the ultimate goal of curbing transmission within the hospital as well as protecting the health and safety of our community.”
The number of infected staff at the hospital has gone up by two since Thursday to 28. There are currently 26 patients with COVID-19 under the care of the London Health Sciences Centre, which operates University Hospital.
