No critical care beds available at Chatham-Kent Health Alliance as hospital pauses elective surgeries

Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (File Photo)

Windsor, Ont. -

Health officials in Chatham-Kent say they’re facing significant demands on hospital services, due to alarming COVID-19 case counts.

As a result, Chatham-Kent Health Alliance is ramping down its surgeries and procedures, as medical, surgical, and critical care occupancy at the hospital exceeds 100 per cent.

“In the case where there’s no critical care capacity in the hospital and a patient arrives in the emergency room, that patient is stabilized,” says Dr. Pervez Faruqi, Chief of Staff.

Nine ICU beds are occupied by patients with COVID-19.

“A total of 15 of our 22 critical care beds are occupied by individuals who are COVID positive,” says Lori Marshall, President and CEO.

CKHA say the situation is unsustainable and two ICU patients have been transferred to London.

“That is one of the things that is necessary at this time,” says Marshall.

During the temporary ramp down period, roughly 175 elective procedures and Operating Room cases will be affected weekly.

“Some of those would be in patient procedures or persons coming in and requiring hospital stay to recover and some would be smaller procedures that are coming in for day surgery or say cataracts,” says Caen Suni, Vice President of Clinical Programs and Operations.

Chatham-Kent Health Alliance will continue with emergency and urgent surgeries, including cancer treatment.

Health officials say 58 staff members have been exposed to COVID-19.

“I’d say we’re going into a period where it’s going to get aggravated even further and we’re gonna be requiring a great deal from our frontline staff and everyone who works at this hospital,” says Suni.

“I’ll also share that the team in place and the resources we’ve created as part of our plan are ideally situated to get us back to where we need to be.”