While most COVID-19 restrictions have been eliminated over the last week across the province, the chief of staff of the region’s largest hospital says it’s a different story in the health-care sector.
Dr. Jeff Tyberg, the chief of staff for Royal Victoria Regional Health Center (RVH) in Barrie, says there are still “significant restrictions” for visitors.
“I would emphasize that a hospital is not the same as a shopping mall or a store.
We have a lot of vulnerable patients remaining in the building. We need to continue to be careful. Also, if we have an outbreak on a unit, that can significantly impact our ability to ramp up and to provide services.”
RVH visitors must continue to show proof of vaccination or reason for exemption.
And while the province’s top doctor has said Ontario’s mask mandate would likely be scrapped by the end of the month, face masks will continue to be mandatory at RVH until further notice.
Meanwhile, Tyberg says the number of patients with COVID-19 has been dropping over the last few months, consistent with a pattern seen across the province.
As of Friday, roughly 40 COVID-related patients were admitted, with a majority of those not acutely ill or infectious.
“Our case numbers have certainly been dropping over the last few months,” Tyberg says. “So certainly our numbers are headed in the right direction, but we still have a fair number of patients.”
The reduction of admitted patients led to the resumption of non-urgent surgeries last month, a process that Tyberg says is unrolling relatively well.
All 11 of the hospital’s operating rooms are now running in full force, bringing the hospital to 90 per cent of its pre-pandemic surgery capacity.
“It’s been going quite well,” says Tyberg. “So we’re happy to be at a level where we are able to provide service to patients, some of whom have been waiting for a significant period of time.”
Still, it will be some time for many patients who have had their surgeries delayed.
RVH has approximately 7,000 surgeries backlogged.
Tyberg says as restrictions continue to ease, the hospital will be able to operate at more than 100 per cent of its surgery capacity, with many being completed on evenings and weekends to tackle the long list.