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
Couple randomly attacked, 1 stabbed, by group of teens in Toronto, police say
A man has been transported to hospital after police say he was stabbed in a random attack carried out by a group of teens in Toronto on Friday night.
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Michael Cohen: A challenging star witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial
He once said he would take a bullet for Donald Trump. Now Michael Cohen is prosecutors' biggest piece of legal ammunition in the former president's hush money trial.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
Millions of Canadians have been exposed to potentially toxic chemicals, and they're not going anywhere
For decades, North Bay, Ontario's water supply has harboured chemicals associated with liver and developmental issues, cancer and complications with pregnancy. It's far from the only city with that problem.
As Israel pushes deeper into Rafah, Hamas regroups elsewhere in ungoverned Gaza
Israeli forces were battling Palestinian militants across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, including in parts of the devastated north that the military said it had cleared months ago, where Hamas has exploited a security vacuum to regroup.
Thousands of civilians evacuated from northeast Ukraine as Russia presses renewed border assault
Thousands more civilians have fled Russia's renewed ground offensive in Ukraine's northeast that has targeted towns and villages with a barrage of artillery and mortar fire, officials said Sunday.
Feds 'committed to doing more,' but minister offers no timeline for Canadian Disability Benefit boost
Amid significant criticism from advocates, Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities Minister Kamal Khera is defending her government's long-promised, newly unveiled Canada Disability Benefit, calling the funds an "initial step," but without laying out a timeline for future expansion of the program.
RCMP boss expresses desire for new law to deal with threats against politicians
RCMP commissioner Mike Duheme says he wants the government to look at drafting a new law that would make it easier for police to pursue charges against people who threaten elected officials.