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
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cyberattacks detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Canucks claw out 5-4 comeback win over Oilers in Game 1
Dakota Joshua had a goal and two assists and the Vancouver Canucks scored three third-period goals to claw out a 5-4 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series Wednesday.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.