With frontline emergency responders shifting towards dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, many Tri-City residents may be wondering what they should do if they need to go to emergency or visit someone in hospital.
The Tri-City News posed that question to Fraser Health and received this response:
“We are taking a number of steps to ensure we are best positioned to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, provide care to those who need it and keep our patients, staff and physicians safe.”
Here’s what’s happening now:
EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS
• ERs remain open to those who need emergency care. Fraser Health asks that those who are not experiencing a care emergency to refrain from coming to the emergency department.
• Fraser Health recognizes that some people may be worried and want to go to the ER to be tested for COVID-19. While COVID-19 testing is available for all who need it, not everyone requires a test. Testing continues for those who are part of an active investigation or outbreak cluster; those with severe illness who are hospitalized; residents of long-term care facilities; and health-care workers. If you have no symptoms, mild symptoms or are a returning traveller and isolating at home, you do not require a test.
A free online assessment tool from the BC Ministry of Health is available here.
ELECTIVE SURGERIES
• On March 16, B.C. Minister of Health Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry directed health authorities to postpone elective surgeries at all hospitals.
• Elective surgeries includes any surgery that is not urgent, emergent or oncological. Hospitals will prioritize urgent and emergency procedures. This measure will assist 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.
• Physician offices will inform their patients directly if there is an impact to them.
VISITORS
To keep patients, families and staff safe and in keeping with the provincial health officer’s recommendations for social distancing, the health authority is limiting the number of visitors entering health care buildings. Until further notice, these are the visitor restrictions:
• emergency department: one adult caregiver/support person;
• outpatient clinics: one adult caregiver/support person;
• in-patient areas: two adult caregivers/support people;
• palliative/end of life: Fraser Health will accommodate patient and family needs and consult with infection prevention and control.
• Long-term care: Essential visitors only. According to the BC Centre for Disease Control website, examples of essential visitors include but are not limited to: visits for compassionate care (end of life and critical illness); visits considered paramount to resident care and wellbeing, such as assistance with feeding or mobility; existing registered volunteers providing services as described above only.
Fraser Health said: “While these are the steps we are taking today, additional steps may be need to be taken in the future as the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve.”
More information is available at www.fraserhealth.ca/coronavirus.
