Ontario ICU closed for a month has no date set to reopen
A month after an Ontario intensive care unit temporarily closed due to a “significant staff shortage,” the hospital has no timeline for when the ICU will re-open its doors.
On July 28, Lakeridge Health said it made the “difficult decision” to temporarily relocate Bowmanville Hospital’s ICU and relocate care to the Ajax Pickering and Oshawa Hospitals.
“We have restored some critical care nursing services at the Bowmanville Hospital, and we continue to work diligently to stabilize staffing in order to fully return services in the ICU,” Lakeridge spokesperson Sharon Navarro told CTV News Toronto on Wednesday.
This comes as the Ontario government released the next phase of its "Plan to Stay Open" on Thursday, ahead of an anticipated rise in respiratory illnesses in the coming months.
Despite the consolidation of care in Bowmanville, Navarro said there have been no interruptions to services at the hospital’s emergency department and a critical care physician has remained onsite throughout this transition period.
In the days ahead, she said the situation will be closely monitored and further updates will be announced to the community as soon as they are available.
“We recognize the impact this situation has had on our staff, patients, and their families. We are so grateful to the staff and physicians who are now providing these critical care services, as well as those who are working tirelessly to ensure adequate staffing to safely return all services as soon as possible,” Navarro said.
“We also appreciate the patience, cooperation, and understanding of the Durham Region community during this extremely challenging time.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.