Health Sciences North in Sudbury says progress is continuing in resuming clinical services
On June 1 HSN began the gradual reintroduction of some of these activities that were postponed since mid-March following a directive issued from the province.
"While HSN continued with more than 1,000 emergency procedures during this time, more than 4,400 elective and non-urgent procedures were postponed to preserve system capacity for a potential surge of COVID-19 patients," says spokesman Jason Turnbull.
Over the last two weeks, programs have been contacting patients to reschedule their procedures.
"These patients were waiting for surgical and cardiac procedures that generally required up to 48 hours, or less, to recover in hospital," explains Turnbull. "During this phase, from June 1 until June 15, HSN successfully performed 684 urgent and elective surgeries and procedures such as cancer surgeries, hip replacements, and colonoscopies. This is about 60 per cent of our normal activity in the surgical program.
Additionally, from June 1 to 15, 412 cardiodiagnostic procedures, such as pacemaker checks and other cardiac tests, were performed. HSN’s Cardiac Cath Lab, where patients are tested and treated for cardiovascular disease, was running at 50 per cent capacity during most of the pandemic, but has now resumed 100 per cent of regular activity.
A number of outpatient services have also begun to resume this week. If progress continues, HSN anticipates moving into Phase 3, which would be 75 per cent of normal patient activity, in mid to late July.
