Northern Health announces visitor restrictions, postpone all scheduled non-urgent surgeries

Updated: Some changes have been made by Northern Health with respect to non-urgent surgeries and visitor restrictions.

The health authority issued the following bulletin on the restrictions now in place at facilities and outpatient clinics.

Until further notice, the following visitor restrictions are in place:

• Hospital Emergency Departments, Intensive Care/Critical Care areas: ONE adult caregiver/support person
• Perinatal Unit: ONE adult caregiver/support person
• Neonatal ICU: TWO adult caregivers/support persons
• Inpatient Pediatric and Adult Areas (with routine precautions in place): ONE adult caregivers/support persons
• Inpatient Areas (additional precautions in place): ONE adult caregiver/support person
• Primary and Urgent Care: ONE adult caregiver/support person
• Palliative/end of life: We will accommodate patient and family needs and consult with infection prevention and control.
• Outpatient Clinics: ONE adult caregiver/support person
• Primary and Urgent Care: ONE adult caregiver/support person
• Long-term care homes: ONE adult caregivers/support persons

No visitor who is unwell with the following symptoms may visit any of the above facilities: fever, cough, runny/stuffy nose, sore throat and/or diarrhea.

British Columbia’s health authorities including Northern Health have also been directed to move all hospitals in the province to Outbreak Response Phase 2, as of March 16.

This means hospitals will undertake only urgent and emergency procedures and will postpone all non-urgent scheduled surgeries.

Northern Health said affected patients with upcoming scheduled, elective (non-urgent) procedures, or awaiting urgent procedures, will be contacted in the coming days about their procedures.

“These measures will assist our hospitals to redeploy and train essential service health-care providers on critical care related to COVID-19, to ensure sufficient medical supplies for patients and staff who need them most, and to further increase capacity to respond to the potential for a surge of COVID-19 patients requiring acute care,” Northern Health said.

(Files by Brendan Pawliw, MyPGNow)