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Flu overload cancels Ottawa surgeries
'We're stretched to the max'
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 | 11:16 AM ET
CBC News
The Ottawa Hospital has been forced to cancel 112 surgeries originally scheduled between Oct. 28 and Nov. 6, said CEO Dr. Jack Kitts. (Simon Gardner/CBC)
More than 100 surgeries have been cancelled at the Ottawa Hospital as swine flu patients flood emergency rooms and fill up hospital beds.
"We are postponing people who really need to be done, and that's not something we take lightly, and it is not something we want to do," said Dr. Jack Kitts, CEO of the Ottawa Hospital.
The hospital has been forced to cancel 112 surgeries originally scheduled for between Oct. 28 and Nov. 6. They include operations that are considered less time-sensitive, such as shoulder repairs, knee and hip replacements and hernia operations.
Kitts said since swine flu started spreading this fall, emergency room visits have jumped 40 per cent. But what has really stretched resources at the hospital, which is almost always operating at or near full capacity, is that close to 40 people were in hospital Monday with problems related to swine flu.
Dr. Joseph Mamazza, the hospital's head of general surgery, had to call three patients to cancel gastrointestinal surgeries last week.
"It's very difficult for me to have to pick up the phone and call patients and say, 'Listen, we're stretched to the max. We have no beds, and we have to reschedule you,'" he said.
Burden on family
In many cases, patients have to make costly arrangements to come in for surgery or have arranged for relatives to help them, Mamazza said.
"So, it puts quite a burden on the family itself," he said.
And many patients have already waited a very long time for their surgeries, Kitts said.
"By the time these patients have waited several months to get here, they're often in a lot of pain and have developed other illnesses," he said.
The hospital is trying to give patients another operation date within a few weeks, and Kitts said staff are determined not to cancel a patient's surgery more than once.
'It's very difficult for me to have to ... call patients and say, 'Listen, we're stretched to the max, we have no beds and we have to reschedule you,'" said Dr. Joseph Mamazza. (Simon Gardner/CBC)
A vaccination program targeting the H1N1 influenza A virus that causes swine flu is underway in the province but for now is only available for high-risk groups, which include:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/stor...elled-flu.html
'We're stretched to the max'
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 | 11:16 AM ET
CBC News
The Ottawa Hospital has been forced to cancel 112 surgeries originally scheduled between Oct. 28 and Nov. 6, said CEO Dr. Jack Kitts. (Simon Gardner/CBC)More than 100 surgeries have been cancelled at the Ottawa Hospital as swine flu patients flood emergency rooms and fill up hospital beds.
"We are postponing people who really need to be done, and that's not something we take lightly, and it is not something we want to do," said Dr. Jack Kitts, CEO of the Ottawa Hospital.
The hospital has been forced to cancel 112 surgeries originally scheduled for between Oct. 28 and Nov. 6. They include operations that are considered less time-sensitive, such as shoulder repairs, knee and hip replacements and hernia operations.
Kitts said since swine flu started spreading this fall, emergency room visits have jumped 40 per cent. But what has really stretched resources at the hospital, which is almost always operating at or near full capacity, is that close to 40 people were in hospital Monday with problems related to swine flu.
Dr. Joseph Mamazza, the hospital's head of general surgery, had to call three patients to cancel gastrointestinal surgeries last week.
"It's very difficult for me to have to pick up the phone and call patients and say, 'Listen, we're stretched to the max. We have no beds, and we have to reschedule you,'" he said.
Burden on family
In many cases, patients have to make costly arrangements to come in for surgery or have arranged for relatives to help them, Mamazza said.
"So, it puts quite a burden on the family itself," he said.
And many patients have already waited a very long time for their surgeries, Kitts said.
"By the time these patients have waited several months to get here, they're often in a lot of pain and have developed other illnesses," he said.
The hospital is trying to give patients another operation date within a few weeks, and Kitts said staff are determined not to cancel a patient's surgery more than once.
'It's very difficult for me to have to ... call patients and say, 'Listen, we're stretched to the max, we have no beds and we have to reschedule you,'" said Dr. Joseph Mamazza. (Simon Gardner/CBC)A vaccination program targeting the H1N1 influenza A virus that causes swine flu is underway in the province but for now is only available for high-risk groups, which include:
- People under 65 with chronic conditions.
- Pregnant women.
- Children 6 months to under five years of age.
- People living in remote or isolated communities.
- Health care workers.
- Household contacts and care providers of persons at high risk who cannot be immunized or may not respond to vaccines.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/stor...elled-flu.html