This week, the Government of Ontario revised Directive #2 relating to the pause of regular patient care services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospitals are now able to slowly resume scheduled surgeries and procedures in a phased manner that were paused since mid- March. Hanover & District Hospital will be using a balanced and thoughtful approach that will move forward with priority cases first while maintaining capacity in the event of a surge of COVID-19 patients.
“Hanover & District Hospital (HDH) will be working closely with local and regional partners to reintroduce services in a prioritized manner while ensuring patient, physician and staff safety,” says Dana Howes, President & CEO.
The gradual approach will enable HDH to take the necessary steps to resuming paused patient care programs while ensuring provincial conditions are upheld including:
- A sustained commitment to support long-term care
- Adequate supplies of personal protective equipment
- Adequate supplies of drugs for surgical procedures
- Taking advantage of new care delivery options such as utilizing virtual platforms
- The flexibility to quickly adjust or reduce patient care services should a surge in COVID-19 cases occur
Locally, HDH’s surgical services will slowly increase volumes based on patient acuity and priority over the coming weeks in alignment and collaboration with other hospitals in the South-West Region. Patients can expect to hear directly from their health care provider regarding their procedure. Please be patient as health care providers will reach out in order of acuity and priority.
Diagnostic Imaging procedures such as CT, ultrasounds and x-rays that were paused during this time are being evaluated for urgency and patients will be notified by HDH regarding their rescheduled appointments.
While HDH is eager to resume services, patients and their families are asked to be patient as it will take some time for procedures and appointments to get rescheduled. Upon arrival, patients will be screened prior to entry and asked to wash/sanitize their hands and wear a mask. Patients are encouraged to wear their own masks during their visit or they will be provided a disposable mask upon entry. Please respect the principles of social/physical distancing including in waiting areas which are set up to encourage this.
Unless instructed otherwise, please arrive no earlier than fifteen (15) minutes prior to your appointment to limit the number of people in the hospital and its waiting areas.
Please note, wherever possible, virtual/telephone appointments will be utilized (e.g. pre-operative appointments).
“On behalf of the HDH team, I would like to thank our community for being so diligent with respect to COVID-19 precautions such as social distancing,” said Howes. “Throughout this experience, we have been incredibly lucky to have received so much support from our community and we are incredibly grateful for it.”
