Chinook Regional Hospital -- LNN

By Pattison Media

ALL ZONES AFFECTED

AHS postpones scheduled surgeries due to COVID-19

Sep 4, 2021 | 1:13 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB. — The rise in COVID-19 cases in the province and the resulting demand on hospital resources means Alberta Health Services will be taking further immediate steps to create additional ICU capacity.

AHS announced Friday they will be postponing scheduled surgeries and procedures across all zones. All patients who are affected will be contacted directly by AHS.

Here’s how the postponements are broken down by zone:

• In the North Zone, surgical postponements of up to 60 per cent are expected next week.
• In the Edmonton Zone, postponements of scheduled surgeries and procedures will increase to up to 50 per cent.
• Central Zone will be postponing up to 40 per cent of endoscopy procedures and up to 30 per cent of scheduled surgeries.
• Calgary Zone and South Zone are postponing up to 30 per cent of scheduled surgeries, endoscopy and outpatient visits.

AHS says they will maintain urgent and emergent procedures, as well as prioritized cancer surgeries. In addition, they are working to open and staff additional acute care and ICU beds across the province as quickly as possible.

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Calgary Zone is opening five beds in the Pandemic Response Unit (PRU) located at South Health Campus to be used for day medicine patients, not patients with COVID-19. The day medicine spaces in SHC will be used for general inpatients.

Edmonton Zone is also preparing the PRU at the Kaye Edmonton Clinic to potentially open in the next few weeks. Patients who are recovering from COVID-19 and are deemed to be at low risk of transmitting the virus would be treated at the PRU if that additional capacity is required.

These surgical postponements aim to free up space in hospitals for patients who need a higher level of care, and support redeployment of frontline staff and resources to areas of greatest need.

AHS is also asking all part-time and casual staff who are available to take extra shifts to please do so. Staffing is said to have become the critical issue in this fourth wave of the pandemic.

AHS acknowledges their frontline physicians and staff are tired after 19 months of pandemic response. They say they are extremely grateful for everything they have done for Albertans, and regret asking them to go above and beyond again.

The situation is serious, and AHS would like to remind all Albertans that they need their help in reducing the transmission of COVID-19 in the community, which in turn will reduce strain on the healthcare system.

AHS strongly urges all eligible Albertans to get immunized as quickly as possible, which officials say is your best defense against a severe outcome from COVID-19.