Ottawa area hospitals postpone non-urgent surgeries, procedures and programming

This is a joint message from the Ottawa area hospitals: Bruyère, CHEO, Montfort, The Ottawa Hospital, The Royal, The University of Ottawa Heart Institute and Queensway Carleton Hospital.

OTTAWA – March 17, 2020 – As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to evolve locally, Ottawa area hospitals are taking further action to ensure the health and safety of patients, families and our workforce. In-line with guidance from the Ontario Ministry of Health, hospitals in the Ottawa area are taking a planned approach to postpone non-urgent surgeries, procedures, and outpatient programming and clinics.

Hospitals are always here to care for patients, and are working together to find solutions to protect safety, while continuing to provide excellent care.

Surgeries, procedures, and outpatient programming and clinics to be postponed will be selected on a set of clear criteria to carefully consider the health-care needs of our patients while maintaining their safety. Hospital staff are in the process of notifying patients, so that they have all the information they need regarding their care.

Reducing activity in operating rooms and other areas of the hospital allows the hospitals to be ready to take on potential COVID-19 cases, as the situation continues to evolve. Hospitals in the Ottawa area are also stepping up their infection prevention and control to help reduce the possible spread of COVID-19.

For more information on each hospital's response to COVID-19 can be found on their websites:

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Media contacts:

CHEO: Paddy Moore, pmoore@cheo.on.ca

Bruyère: Jesse Cressman Dickinson, jcressmandickinson@bruyere.org

Montfort: Geneviève Picard, genevievepicard@montfort.on.ca

The Ottawa Hospital: Michaela Schreiter, mschreiter@toh.ca

The Royal: Karen Monaghan, karen.monaghan@theroyal.ca

The University of Ottawa Heart Institute: Leigh B. Morris, lmorris@ottawaheart.ca

Queensway Carleton Hospital: Ann Fuller, afuller@qch.on.ca

About CHEO

Dedicated to the best life for every child and youth, CHEO is a global leader in pediatric health care and research. Based in Ottawa, CHEO includes a hospital, children’s treatment centre, school and research institute, with satellite services located throughout Eastern Ontario. CHEO provides excellence in complex pediatric care, research and education. We are committed to partnering with families and the community to provide exceptional care — where, when and how it’s needed. CHEO is a partner of the Kids Come First Health Team, a network of partners in Eastern Ontario working to create a high quality, standardized and coordinated system for pediatric health care that is centred around children, youth and their families. Every year, CHEO helps more than 500,000 children and youth from Eastern Ontario, western Quebec, Nunavut and Northern Ontario.