Elective Procedures Reduced To Re-Deploy Staff To COVID ICU Care
If you were scheduled for elective procedures over the near future you might find your procedure delayed or cancelled.
That is the word from the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) as staff and other resources are being re-deployed in order to expand surge capacity in the health system. The SHA directive calls for the reduction of non-critical and elective services.
Temporary service disruptions will be localized and time-limited, as much as possible, while teams mobilize to support both growing demands for COVID care and maintain critical services for non-COVID patients.
At the present time the number of cases of COVID -10 are surging as the fourth wave has commenced.
On Friday there were 432 confirmed cases of COVID - 19 and on Saturday there was another 341 cases confirmed.
“Saskatchewan residents depend on our services so slowing down some services is not an easy choice,” said Scott Livingstone, President and CEO.
“But we are challenged to meet the growing COVID demand while facing an increasing shortage of dedicated and highly-skilled health care professionals. They are fatigued and burnt out and dealing with increasingly abusive behavior. We ask for your support, your patience and understanding, and your kindness. Most of all, we implore you to get vaccinated if you are medically eligible, and demand those in your life to do the same. Only by coming together will we get passed this surge before us, and preserve our health system for months and years to come,” Livingstone said in a statement.
The SHA is taking the steps to scale back elective and non-critical services as the more transmissible Delta variant of COVID - 19 is responsible for the growing surge of cases. The surge of cases has resulted in the increased demands on ICUs from COVID - 19 patients.
The Province recently released figures which show the majority of new COVID - 19 cases, hospitalizations as well as stays in ICUs in August were by patients who were not fully vaccinated.
The directive to SHA teams includes the following surge targets for ICU and hospital capacity:
surge from a baseline of 79 ICU beds up to 130 to accommodate a projected 80 COVID ICU patients and maintain care for on average 50 non-COVID ICU patients;
flex up hospital capacity across the province to care for an additional 255 COVID non-ICU patients;
The SHA is urging the public to be patient as health care teams balance growing testing demands with the competing pressures of hospital care and maintaining access to immunization, with ongoing staffing challenges.