Ottawa Hospital to stop allowing visitors, postpone non-urgent surgeries

The Ottawa Hospital is prohibiting general visitors and postponing non-urgent surgeries in line with new provincial restrictions.
“The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) will be postponing non-urgent surgeries, procedures and ambulatory care activity to ensure that we can continue providing urgent and emergent care to those in need,” the hospital said in a news release Monday.
The move is in line with a new Ontario government directive pausing all non-urgent surgeries starting Wednesday in order to prepare for a rapid increase of COVID-19 hospitalizations.
Medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore said pausing non-urgent surgeries will free up 1,200 to 1,500 extra beds, which will be "essential to be able to provide oxygen and care" to Omicron patients.
The Ottawa Hospital says care teams will identify which surgeries and procedures will be postponed on a case-by-case basis, “based on factors such as urgency and the health situation of each patient.”
If you’re scheduled for surgery in the coming weeks, you will hear from the hospital shortly, the news release said.
Also effective Wednesday, general visitors will not be allowed in the hospital for the “foreseeable future.”
The hospital will allow one essential care partner at a time for each patient. An essential care partner is a support person, often a family member of close friend, whose presence is considered essential to a patient’s safety and well-being.
Exceptions for visitors will be made based on compassionate grounds.
The hospital asked the public to continue to follow public health guidelines by wearing masks, practicing good hand hygiene, limiting contacts and most importantly, getting vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19.
“Health-care workers continue to lead us through this pandemic. They have been called heroes, but they are also human, and have endured so much to ensure that we can continue to provide the essential health-care programs we offer to our community.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada banning Chinese telecom giant Huawei, ZTE from 5G networks
Canada is banning China's Huawei Technologies and ZTE, another Chinese company, from participating in the country's 5G wireless networks, citing national security and cybersecurity concerns. Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino made the announcement about prohibiting products and services from these 'high-risk vendors,' in Ottawa on Thursday.

N.B. coroner jury says use-of-force policy needs review after officer kills woman
An independent group should review the use-of-force policy that guides New Brunswick police to ensure it is concise and understood by all officers in the province, a coroner's jury recommended Thursday.
Abortion accessibility in Canada: The Catholic hospital conflict
A leaked draft showing that the U.S Supreme Court justices are preparing to overturn the Roe v. Wade abortion-rights ruling has sparked debate in Canada, including whether Catholic hospitals can impede your access to abortion.
Ed Fast says it became 'untenable' to do job as Conservative finance critic
Conservative MP Ed Fast said it was becoming 'untenable' to do his job as finance critic within the Conservative Party of Canada, which is why he asked to be relieved of his duties.
Monkeypox: What is it and how does it spread?
A growing number of countries, including Canada, the U.S., Spain, Portugal, and the U.K, are reporting an unusual outbreak of monkeypox. Here is what we know about this rare virus.
911 dispatcher who took Buffalo shooting call put on leave
A 911 dispatcher has been placed on leave and may lose her job after allegedly hanging up on an supermarket employee hiding during this weekend's shooting rampage in Buffalo, New York.
Canada inflation: How we compare to other G7 nations
With a meeting of G7 finance ministers underway this week, a CTVNews.ca analysis found that while Canadians are feeling the pain of record-high inflation, among G7 nations we are surpassed by Germany, the U.S., and the U.K.
Parents with allergic babies struggling amid formula shortage, Sask. mother says
Saskatchewan’s Nakaylia Tudway-Cains is one of many mothers in Canada feeling the strain of the ongoing baby formula shortage, and she says she's now paying $400 a month for special over-the-counter formula she needs for her allergic son.
Service Canada increases staffing at passport counters, but long waits persist
With lengthy delays for Canadians seeking to get a new or renewed passport, Service Canada says it’s upped staffing at passport service counters to expedite processing ahead of the summer travel season. Yet, travellers say they’re still facing long wait times.