St. Mary’s General Hospital in Kitchener says it has been forced to cancel some elective surgeries this week as a result of having a high occupancy rate of beds in its inpatient units.
In a letter to patients posted to Twitter, the hospital says that ongoing staffing pressures are also part of the issue.
“Due to a high # of admissions through our ED, high bed occupancy on our inpatient units & continued staffing pressures, we must cancel some elective surgeries for the rest of this week,” the message read.
“Patients are being contacted and their procedures will be re-booked as quickly as possible.”
The hospital also put out a request for people who need emergency care to come alone if they are able to.
“Due to heavy patient volumes in our Emergency Department, St. Mary’s asks that, if you are seeking emergency care, please do not bring someone with you into the department unless it’s necessary,” a second tweet read.
“Visitors may be asked to leave if not required. Thank you for your help.”