Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC) has started slowly resuming elective and non-urgent surgeries and procedures that were postponed mid-April.
The move is effective today.
The gradual and cautious resumption of non-urgent surgical activity at MAHC follows the provincial lifting of Directive #2, which instructed hospitals to pause non-urgent surgical procedures in response to growing COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations across the province to ensure critical care capacity and human resources were available to care for COVID-19 patients during the third wave of the pandemic.
With the recent provincial direction to restart surgeries that do not require a stay in the hospital, MAHC’s surgical teams began assessing readiness for a safe, gradual ramp-up plan; estimating 450 to 500 procedures were impacted. Area surgeons have been rescheduling patients, and are contacting those impacted to advise of their procedure date.
At this time, a pre-operative COVID swab continues to be required prior to a surgical procedure.
“We know patients are anxious and that service reductions have been difficult and frustrating for patients whose care has been delayed,” says CEO Natalie Bubela. “We thank everyone for their patience, understanding and co-operation as we work through the backlog from this latest ramp down.”
There is still a possibility that elective and non-urgent surgeries and procedures could be postponed again, but MAHC remains hopeful that further service disruption will be unnecessary and avoided, adds Bubela.
Ontario Health has indicated it will continue to closely monitor new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and critical care capacity across the province, and will respond quickly if the situation worsens.