Hamilton hospitals making plans to bring back services that were put on hold for COVID-19 surge
- Craig Clark
- 23 Apr 2020
Hospitals around the city were forced to pause some services as they anticipated a surge in COVID-19 cases. With the surge hitting lower-than-anticipated levels, hospitals are making plans to bring back some of the services.
It’s unlikely the surge will hit Hamilton as hard as originally projected with the province suggesting the virus is at its peak.
There were no new #COVID19 cases in #HamOnt as of noon today. This story also includes updates for Haldimand-Norfolk, Niagara, Brant and Halton. https://t.co/ZSkJY6JkjG
— CBC Hamilton (@CBCHamilton) April 23, 2020
Elective surgeries were cancelled and hundreds of beds were cleared as the hospitals prepared for the worst. But, the return to a more normal service will be a slow process that could take weeks or even months as the hospitals determine which treatment and procedures should be prioritized.
Leaders of St. Joe’s and Hamilton Health Sciences spent weeks contacting retired staff, moving patients, and setting up surge capacity locations.
City hospitals have been severely cutting the number of people staying on-site, which usually operate at capacity. St Joe’s reported 60 per cent of its beds were in use. And Hamilton Health Sciences reported that 80 per cent of their beds were being used.
Between the two hospitals, they put aside 450 beds to deal with the potential surge. As of Wednesday, only 19 of the beds were in use.
Although the provincial government suggested the surge will be much less than projected, hospitals are cautiously planning how and when services will return to normal.
Photo courtesy of @yelenapotts.
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