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
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
BREAKING Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
WATCH LIVE As GC Strategies partner is admonished by MPs, RCMP confirms search warrant executed
The RCMP confirmed Wednesday it had executed a search warrant at an address registered to GC Strategies. This development comes as MPs are enacting an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power, summoning one of its contractors to appear before the House of Commons to be admonished publicly for failing to answer questions related to the ArriveCan app.
Disappointment widespread over budget's proposed $200-month disability benefit funding
Advocacy groups across Canada are expressing widespread disappointment about the amount of funding earmarked in the 2024 federal budget for the long-awaited Canada Disability Benefit.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Former Sask. massage therapist who sexually assaulted clients has day parole revoked
A former massage therapist who pleaded guilty to a string of sexual assaults has had his day parole revoked.