Ottawa area hospitals: If you need care, please come to or connect with your hospital
April 21, 2020
This is a joint message from Ottawa’s medical chiefs of staff
OTTAWA – April 21, 2020 - As the community continues to follow physical
distancing recommendations from Ottawa Public Health, Ottawa area hospitals
want to remind the public to continue to come to hospital if you think you have
a serious health concern. We appreciate that the public is taking the
recommendations to stay home so seriously, but it should not come at the cost
of your health or safety. If you are in need of urgent medical attention,
please go to your nearest Emergency Department or call 911 right away.
Hospital
staff are taking every necessary precaution to ensure the health and safety of
our patients, caregivers, staff and community. Our staff and medical staff are
ready and able to care for you in the safest way possible.
There
are a number of clinical programs that continue to run and care for patients in
need, in person as well as virtually.
The University of Ottawa Heart Institute has maintained capacity to provide care for
all cardiac emergencies. Please don’t ignore your heart symptoms. A delay in
seeking care could have a lasting impact on the outcome of your treatment. It
is important for all patients to keep in touch with their family doctor, and
other specialists (like cardiologists) who manage their care. In select cases,
a virtual or telephone consultation with one of our cardiologists may be
appropriate.
While
we are all encouraged to stay home whenever possible, we understand that for
some, home is not always a safe place. The Ottawa Hospital’s Sexual
Assault and Partner Abuse Care Program,
run out of the Civic Campus Emergency Department, is still here to care for
patients who have experienced sexual or intimate partner violence. The program
is offering virtual follow-up clinics, to provide access to care for those
unable to come to the hospital. There are also sexual assault programs run out
of CHEO and Cornwall Community
Hospital.
Please contact the one closest to you.
As
the regional stroke centre, The Ottawa Hospital also wants to remind the public
not to ignore the symptoms of a stroke at the first onset. Time is of the
essence when treating any condition, especially a stroke. It’s important to
seek medical attention immediately if you think you might be experiencing a
stroke.
We
also know that increased stress and anxiety associated with the COVID-19
pandemic can bring on or worsen mental health and substance use issues. If you
are struggling, please reach out for help. As many of you are aware, The Royal
Ottawa Mental Health Centre has opened an urgent access mental health clinic to
help individuals who are at risk of declining mental health or hospitalization.
The C-PROMPT clinic is available with a referral from your
primary care provider. CHEO
offers mental health support for
any children or youth in need.
While
there are changes to some of the substance use services in our community, many
programs are still offering services—but changing the way they are offered,
such as offering virtual counselling. The Royal’s Substance
Use and Concurrent Disorders is
open and accepting new clients. This includes a Rapid Access Addiction Medicine
Clinic that is providing services virtually during the pandemic. To access
these substance use services at The Royal, call (613) 722-6521 ext. 6508.
At CHEO, many clinics are connecting virtually with children and youth who have existing relationships with the care teams there. However, CHEO has seen a 70 per cent drop in new cases of diabetes in the last 30 days, and those children and youth who have gone to the Emergency Department are sicker than is expected normally. And while CHEO unfortunately continues to see new cases of childhood cancer, some of these children and youth are only coming in to be seen after the symptoms have been around for longer than they would usually see.
The COVID-19 Care Clinics in the west and east ends continue to provide treatment for individuals who are experiencing mild to moderate symptoms of respiratory illness requiring a medical assessment, such as coughs, fever, and other cold-like symptoms. The clinic in the west end is operated by Queensway Carleton Hospital staff, while the clinic in the east end is operated by Hôpital Montfort – both with the help of community primary care physicians and pediatricians.
- Care Clinic - west end: D. A. Moodie Intermediate School in Bells Corners, open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Care Clinic - east end: 1485 Heron Road, open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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Media contacts:
Bruyère:
Jesse Cressman Dickinson, jcressmandickinson@bruyere.org
CHEO:
Paddy Moore, pmoore@cheo.on.ca
Montfort:
Martin Sauvé, martinsauve@montfort.on.ca
Queensway Carleton Hospital:
D.G. Stringer, dgstringer@gmail.com
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