Newsroom

Ottawa area hospitals postpone non-urgent surgeries, procedures and programming to prepare for COVID-19

March 17, 2020

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.

Update - May 20, 2020:

On May 14, Ontario government announced that hospitals can begin offering scheduled surgeries, procedures and other non-urgent clinical services when they meet the province’s criteria to do so safely. This is good news.

Across the hospital, work is underway to meet the province’s requirements to gradually and carefully resume some of our services.

In addition, Queensway Carleton Hospital is also working closely with our partners to create a regional framework that will allow for the resumption of these services. The timing depends on a series of provincial requirements which include, for example:

Sufficient supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) stock on hand
Regional availability of acute and critical care beds
Sufficient staff available

The framework must be approved by the region and province before we begin to re-schedule any non-urgent procedures or services.

We will call you when booking resumes.

If the condition of anyone waiting for these procedures and surgeries has changed over this time, we encourage them to contact their family care provider for assessment.

If anyone is in need of urgent care, we encourage them to come to our Emergency Department.

We understand that the past two months have been stressful. QCH will continue to work closely with our partners to ensure you receive the quality of care you’ve come to expect from our 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: