By Cecilia Nasmith
Instructed by the province to set aside beds in the Intensive Care Unit in case they were needed by COVID patients elsewhere in the province – where cases are in far greater numbers and hospitals in far more crowded condition – Northumberland Hills Hospital has admitted two patients from the Toronto area.
Vice-president of Patient Services and Chief Nursing Executive Susan Walsh said one additional patient had been transferred, for a total of three.
Davis's report to the board said the current occupancy level for NHH is 107%.
“While our first priority will always be to provide access to care to the best of our ability at the local level, we are also prepared to step up to meet requests like this from the broader provincial system should it be required,” Davis's report to the board said.
“As a community hospital, NHH regularly transfers patients to larger centres when specialized care is required that we do not offer here in Northumberland and, likewise, we expect that we may also be called upon to accept patient transfers from other areas, if appropriate.”
The patients transferred in are recovering, Davis said, adding that the average hospital stay for a COVID patient is 17 days.
