There have not yet been any confirmed cases of H1N1 flu at Collingwood’s hospital.
Anita Chevalier — the Manager of Quality, Risk and Utilization at the hospital — says there has been a 25 per cent spike at the hospital of people with influenza like illness, but the hospital has no confirmed cases of H1N1.
Chevalier says they saw some cases of swine flu during the first wave, though.
She says the hospital has only received about 50 per cent of its requested doses of the vaccine from the Health Unit.
But that’s because of the limited quantity of the vaccine coming from the Federal Government.
She says the staff most at risk get the vaccine first, and the hospital is expecting another shipment of vaccine this week.
Chevalier says the vaccine coming to the hospital is only for staff, and they don’t give any vaccinations to the public.
She also stresses there has been a large amount of work going into pandemic planning before the second wave of H1N1 this fall.
The plan is to deal with a very large number of people sick at the hospital, and Chevalier adds they have also planned how to manage increased need inside the hospital.
Chevalier points to the SARS crisis as a lesson to hospitals all over Canada in pandemic planning.
She says that can include cancelling elective procedures, and out patient visits to divert resources to people who are acutely ill.
Chevalier says the hospital would also consider discharging patients sooner if they can be, and even postponing non-elective surgeries if they can be pushed back.