GBHS planning to slowly increase scheduled surgeries and procedures

Planning is now underway to chart a path back to some form of normalcy two months after the Ontario Ministry of Health directed hospitals to decrease scheduled surgical and procedural work and increase capacity for COVID-19 patients.

“It’s a complex process,” said Gary Sims, Grey Bruce Health Services president and CEO. “We’ve spent the last two weeks planning locally to determine the best way to re-open our services. It will be a recovery, phased-in approach.”

The province is asking hospitals to reserve 15 per cent acute capacity to serve COVID-19 patients – or immediately be able to create it – as they plan to resume scheduled surgeries and procedures.

In Grey-Bruce, even though hospitalization rates for COVID-19 have been low to non-existent and the region has yet to have a death as a result of the disease, restarting pre-COVID hospital procedures will be slow and complicated, Sims said.

“We can’t just go back to the pre-COVID times, it’s much more complex now with social distancing, testing, prioritizing surgeries, determining which ones have the greatest waitlists, which ones have the greatest, well, the ethical approach has to be worked through as a group,” he said.

The Ministry of Health is telling hospitals the resumption of scheduled surgeries and procedures can only take place if conventional space is available for care with physical distancing measures in place. There must be a targeted 30-day “stock-on-hand” supply of personal protective equipment for current usage rates and forecasted additional requirements. There must also be enough workforce available for emergent and urgent care, as well as those directed to support long-term care homes.

“You can imagine that prior to COVID we were operating at anywhere between 105 to 150 per cent (capacity) on a daily basis across the province,” Sims said. “Now we are being asked to maintain 15 per cent open-capacity within 24 to 48 hours to respond to COVID, and at the same time managing limited resources while trying to re-open up our surgeries.”

Planning is being coordinated across regional and sub-regional healthcare groups to manage COVID-19 surge capacity and the resumption of other services.

“It’s not as simple as just re-opening,” Sims said. “There is a lot of work going on with a lot of people across the province now, and I’m sure within the next week or so we’ll have a plan in place. Then, hopefully, we’ll start to see places open up.”

The province’s increased capacity to serve patients by telephone and virtual visits through OTN will still be needed and potentially even expanded, Sims said, as hospitals work to create more physical capacity.

“It’s really a wait-and-see scenario. It’s going to take some work and a lot of flexibility, a lot of nimble and creative and innovative ideas to get us there, and it’s going to cost more money,” he said.

As for allowing visitors at the hospital again, the GBHS president and CEO said there are no plans yet in place, other than those for compassionate reasons.

He said a plan to restart regular visiting procedures will be made when the time is right.

“It will still be thoughtful and slow though. We’re not just going to open the doors in any way,” he said.

Meanwhile, GBHS is planning to take down the 75-bed field hospital at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre by the end of June.

The temporary medical facility was ready to serve patients by mid-April should the region experience a surge of COVID-19 cases. The surge never materialized and the use of the field hospital was never required.

A view from the seats at the J.D. McArthur Arena of the field hospital that has been set up on the arena floor by Grey Bruce Health Services. GBHS officials led media tours of the facility at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre in Owen Sound Thursday afternoon. DENIS LANGLOIS

Sims said the specific provincial emergency order which sparked the creation of field hospitals in arenas and community centres to expand hospital capacity ends on June 30.

“We could decide, in partnership with the city, to maintain the hospital in place for a period of time, but the reality is if we’re not going to see a surge at this time or over the next six to seven weeks, then we’re probably quite safe to take it down,” Sims said.

GBHS plans to place the field hospital assets in storage and continue to monitor the region for potential surges or hot-spots. The temporary facility could be set-up within seven to 10 days if needed, he said.

“We have to be very aware of the fact that we’re still dealing with COVID-19. We’re not out of this. A resurge and a rebound could be much worse than the first phase,” Sims said. “We’re cautious not to run forward too quickly to try and get back to normal only to be hit by a second wave with a lot of deaths, then we’ll have everybody second-guessing.”