BCHS continues to ramp down scheduled care to protect hospital capacity

For Immediate Release

BCHS continues to ramp down scheduled care to protect hospital capacity and open additional critical care beds

Brantford, ON – On April 12, following provincial direction provided to all hospitals across Ontario, the Brant Community Healthcare System (BCHS) began ramping down elective surgeries and non-emergent/non-urgent hospital activities. This direction was provided to preserve hospital critical care and human resource capacity.

In response to the increasing capacity pressures across Ontario, we have received further direction from the province to rapidly open critical care capacity. Effective today, Brant Community Healthcare System is opening an additional 5 critical care beds.

We are working closely with our regional hospital partners to coordinate our efforts, and are prepared to receive additional critical care patients from other regions as long as this current surge persists. We will be internally redeploying staff to manage the increased critical care demand. The opening of additional beds will require further reductions in scheduled care services.

“We understand the impact the delay of scheduled care services will have on our patients and their families, and we apologize for this unfortunate situation”, said Dr. David McNeil, President & CEO of BCHS. “We are facing growing demands for COVID care and the need to prepare for critically ill patients is rapidly increasing.”

At this point in time, BCHS will continue with scheduled care services including Diagnostic Imaging, Ambulatory Care, Oncology Care, Fracture Clinic and Endoscopy. BCHS will continue with any cases considered to be urgent/emergency by the Clinical Surgical Triage Committee. Patients who are impacted by the surgical ramp down will be contacted by their care provider and surgeries will be rescheduled when possible.

The Brantford General Hospital Emergency Department and Willett Urgent Care Centre remain fully operational and safe places to receive care.

BCHS encourages all members of the community to continue following public health protocols – wearing masks in public spaces, keeping a safe 2-metre distance from others and frequent hand-washing. By following these simple safety tips, we can keep our communities safe, together.

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Contact

Alena Lukich

alena.lukich@bchsys.org

519-751-5544 ext. 4927

www.bchsys.org