Northern Health is postponing non-urgent scheduled surgeries, after the province ordered all hospitals in B.C. to escalate their response to the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the globe.
As of Monday, all hospitals in the province are operating at Outbreak Response Phase 2, which means only urgent and emergency procedures will be performed.
"Northern Health hospitals will review operating-room capacity daily, to prioritize urgent and emergency cases," a statement issued by Northern Health on Tuesday said. "The cancellation of non-urgent (elective) scheduled surgeries will be implemented over the coming days. Our first steps will include a reduction in non-urgent procedures performed at all sites, and scheduling of urgent procedures
in place of postponed elective surgeries."
Northern Health will begin contacting affected patients in the coming days to let them know how they will be impacted.
The move to limit non-urgent surgeries is intended to ensure that staff, medical supplies and equipment are available for the patients who need them most, the statement said, and make sure that Northern Health's hospitals have the capacity to deal with a potential surge in COVID-19 patients needing care.
