WRH Calls For Patience On Rescheduling Postponed Appointments Due To COVID-19
16-6-2020
On.behalf.of.the many surgeons and our clinical teams assisting them, Windsor Regional Hospital is again asking for the public's patience when it comes to the rescheduling of hundreds of surgical procedures that were postponed when capacity restrictions were put in place in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On May 28, WRH announced along with our regional acute care hospitals, plans to gradually begin rescheduling elective and non-urgent surgical and clinical procedures, programs and clinics, after the Ontario government lifted its previous directive restricting services as the COVID-19 pandemic was taking hold. The hospitals of the Erie-St. Clair West region initiated a regional plan to safely reopen and reschedule various appointments.
This easing of the provincial directive, however, called for a gradual and incremental implementation of carefully thought-out resumption of scheduled cases.
Since that time, our bed capacity has tightened, reaching above the 85% occupancy level. In its latest instructions this week, the government has mandated that hospitals reserve at least 10% of its beds for any potential surge in COVID-19 cases. This government directive further underlines the need at WRH and our partner hospitals to closely monitor our surgery caseload so that we do not exceed volumes and resources.
At the same time, we are aware of surgeons' offices dealing with a significant increase in calls from patients asking about when their procedures will be booked. While we understand patients are anxious to have their postponed procedures rescheduled, WRH is reminding patients that they will be notified directly of opportunities to reschedule surgeries and other appointments by their surgeon's office. Please do not contact the hospital, or surgeons' offices, about a postponed appointment. Surgeons continue to look at their cases and prioritizing who can be scheduled first.
"As we have stated previously, this will be a gradual and incremental restoration of more elective surgeries which will take many weeks, especially when you consider the volume of procedures that needed to be rescheduled and the need for pre-operative care that has been on hold," said WRH Chief of Staff Dr. Wassim Saad. "Please be patient while we take the steps necessary to continue a safe, slow and incremental approach to gradually addressing the needs of all of our patients and their loved ones."
PDF Version