Planning is underway to resume clinical activity at Niagara Health.
This work will take place in a phased approach in order to resume scheduled activity while ensuring we still provide care to COVID-19 patients and maintain capacity for a potential resurge of COVID-19.
We are in the early stages of the planning, which will involve all clinical programs impacted by the pause in services.
As we work through the schedule of clinical activity, we will prioritize patients based on urgency and wait times, among other criteria outlined in the comprehensive framework published earlier this week by the Ontario government and in use by all hospitals.
The framework contains clear criteria that must be met before we can resume our clinical activities:
- A stable number of COVID-19 cases;
- A stable supply of personal protective equipment;
- A stable supply of medications;
- An adequate capacity of inpatient and intensive care unit beds;
- An adequate capacity of health human resources; and
- The availability of post-acute care outside the hospital that would be required to support patients after discharge.
There are no immediate changes taking place at Niagara Health. We understand everyone’s interest in this process, and the eagerness to move forward. We will provide updates as the planning progresses.
