Sudbury

Visitor restrictions in place at hospital in Sudbury due to COVID-19

Health Sciences North in Sudbury has some new temporary guidelines to deal with COVID-19. All elective surgeries and procedures scheduled over the next week have been cancelled. There are also visitor restrictions in place.

Hospital also cancels non-urgent, elective surgeries scheduled between Mar 15 and Mar 22

New temporary guidelines have been put in place at Health Sciences North in Sudbury to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus (Yvon Theriault/Radio-Canada)

The hospital in Sudbury has some new temporary guidelines in place in response to COVID-19.

All elective surgeries and procedures at Health Science North (HSN) — that had been scheduled over the next week, until Mar 22 — have been cancelled.

The change at HSN with the largest impact to patients and their families, is that there are now visitor restrictions in place.

For inpatient and ambulatory areas: only one family member or caregiver is allowed to visit at one time and only during regular visiting hours, between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.

There will also be no visitors allowed in high risk areas like the intensive care unit, isolation rooms, emergency department and the Kirkwood site. However, exceptions will be made is cases of trauma and end-of -life.

The hospital also says that no visitors will be allowed in Adult In-Patient Psychiatry at both Ramsey Lake Health Centre and Kirkwood.

Finally, patient and family common rooms at HSN have been closed.

HSN also asks that any potential visitors who are not feeling well refrain from visiting.

Late last week, HSN set up an assessment centre to test and swab people who may be infected with COVID-19. That location is at the research institute at 56 Walford Road. Those assessments are by appointment only. They will not accept walk-up patients.