Halton Hospitals Are Determined to Remain Strong
Throughout the two-year pandemic, the Halton healthcare system has been doing its absolute best to accommodate the abundance of sick individuals who need their assistance. The surge of omicron has caused the hospitals to become overwhelmed by the day and plead for Halton residences to stay safe and be diligent.
Acton UP arranged an interview with Laura Zilke, the manager of the communication and affairs with the Halton healthcare system. Mrs. Zilke forwarded Acton UP's questions to Halton healthcare employees and collectively they responded to our following questions.
How is the Halton Healthcare system dealing with the current outbreak of Omicron compared to the original COVID-19 outbreak?
Halton Healthcare’s experiences during this wave of COVID-19 are similar to other hospital organizations in Ontario. The impact on our workforce was reflective of the broader community and included a strain on the supply of health human resources. While we see the hopeful signs of reopening throughout the province, pressures in our hospitals remain.
As always, it is extremely critical to our operations that we maintain adequate staffing levels across the hospital for safe patient care and the well-being of all our staff, physicians and volunteers. Halton Healthcare constantly monitors patient volumes and plans for potential surges and like other hospital organizations, makes adjustments as needed.
Do you feel as s healthcare worker the Ontario government is providing you with the support you need in order to relieve the stress of the current situation?
All of our approaches are aligned with provincial guidance and directives, including our compliance with Directive #2 from the Chief Medical Officer of Health. The reinstatement of the directive, January 4, 2022, provided us with additional staff to redeploy to essential areas. As the directive is lifted we will begin a gradual and cautious resumption of non-urgent and non-emergent surgeries and procedures.
Do you have any messages for the Halton public?
Throughout the pandemic our staff, physicians and volunteers have always gone above and beyond to assist when and where needed and we remain grateful for all that they continue to do.
To the community, please know that our hospitals are caring for more patients, with less staff than usual during the pandemic. We want everyone to know that we are still here for them and will provide them with safe, quality care. Our committed staff are doing their best to keep everyone healthy, safe and comfortable and we recognize all their efforts. We thank everyone for their patience and understanding.
For more information regarding Covid-19 information and updates can be found here: https://www.haltonhealthcare.on.ca/covid-19-info
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