Work continues to chip away at a surgical backlog at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance.
Early in the pandemic, cancelled and postponed procedures left many local residents waiting in the wings.
However, CEO Lori Marshall says even with a spike in COVID patients earlier this fall, operating rooms are going full steam.
“We continue to progress with our surgical program and we have not had cancellations, even during our most recent surge,” Marshall explains.
There were concerns in early October that non-urgent procedures might have to be postponed once again to ease the pressure on the number of available beds in the ICU and medical, surgical, and critical care units.
In March of 2021, the local hospital reported performing 2000 fewer surgeries than it had one year previous. Marshall expects to have updated numbers following the next board meeting.
