Hamilton hospital cancels cardiac surgeries for entire day last week amid influx of COVID-19 patients
Hamilton General Hospital had to cancel all cardiac surgeries for an entire day last week as it scrambled to free up resources to care for COVID-19 patients in its intensive care unit.
The hospital said in a news release that seven of its eight extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machines were being used to help unvaccinated COVID-19 patients breathe on Sept. 10, forcing hospital administrators to make the difficult decision to cancel a day’s worth of planned procedures.
The machines essentially take over the work of the heart and lungs by pulling blood from the body and oxygenating it.
They are increasingly used to treat the sickest COVID-19 patients but they are also required by those undergoing cardiac surgeries, hence the dilemma.
“Those choosing to be unvaccinated are endangering others and themselves – they don’t need to be sick and in hospital,” Dr. Craig Ainsworth, Director of the Cardiac Care Unit at Hamilton General Hospital, said in the release. “My colleagues and I are fully vaccinated, we support hospital policy and expect that everyone will follow the science. It’s the right thing to do.”
Scheduled surgeries and procedures were largely put on hold during the third wave of the pandemic but were allowed to resume in June as case counts declined.
The cancellation of cardiac surgeries at Hamilton General Hospital last week comes as hospitalization numbers slowly rise, prompting concerns about renewed strain on the wider healthcare system.
As of Monday, there were 189 COVID-19 patients in intensive care units across Ontario. At Hamilton General there were 38 patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 14 in the ICU.
“Sending home a 50-year-old patient with a weak heart and disease that carries high risk of sudden death is wrong. But we are starting to have no choice,” Dr. Richard Whitlock, a cardiac surgeon for Hamilton Health Sciences, said in a message posted to Twitter. “Our centre is now focusing on the sickest of COVID, those requiring ECMO. This proportion seems higher this wave as we are very early into it and we have already almost reached the peak number that needed ECMO in the 3rd wave.”
Ontario’s Financial Accountability Office has previously projected that the cancelled surgery backlog will reach 419,200 procedures by the end of September.
It has said that it could take the province three-and-a-half years to clear the backlog and that is assuming that hospitals are able to operate at 111 per cent capacity going forward.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Three dead, two hospitalized, following collision in Fredericton: police
Three people have died and two have been hospitalized after a speeding car struck a tree and landed on another vehicle in Fredericton Sunday morning.
Amid climate change warnings, Canadians lukewarm on electric vehicles
Amid scientists' warnings that nations need to transition away from fossil fuels to limit climate change, Canadians are still lukewarm on electric vehicles, according to a study conducted by Nanos Research for CTV News.
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Madonna's biggest-ever concert transforms Rio's Copacabana beach into a massive dance floor
Madonna put on a free concert on Copacabana beach Saturday night, turning Rio de Janeiro's vast stretch of sand into an enormous dance floor teeming with a multitude of her fans.
1 person killed and 23 injured in a bus crash in northern Maryland, police say
One person was killed and 23 others were injured when a bus crashed early Sunday on Interstate 95 in northern Maryland, police said.
Nylander defends Leafs' core after playoff exit, Toronto again picks up the pieces
William Nylander stood in a solemn visitors locker room at TD Garden just before midnight. The Maple Leafs had battled back from a 3-1 series deficit against the Boston Bruins with consecutive 2-1 victories - including one that required extra time - in their first-round playoff series to push the club's Original Six rival to the limit before suffering a devastating Game 7 overtime loss. Nylander's message was emphatic.
El Nino weakening doesn't mean cooler temperatures this summer, forecasters say
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
‘Love has no boundaries’: Sask. couple in their 90s and 80s get married
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Video shows gaggle of geese stopping traffic on Highway 1 near Vancouver
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.