The surging COVID-19 cases in BC have led to the cancellation of non-urgent surgeries at nine hospitals in the Lower Mainland, including at Lions Gate Hospital.
In a statement, Dr. Bonnie Henry said the pressure on BC’s health-care system is increasing.
“As a result of the growing number of people with COVID-19 requiring care in hospital and the strain it is putting on our capacity, we have made the difficult decision to postpone scheduled non-urgent surgeries in nine Lower Mainland hospitals for the next two weeks,” she said.
Surgeries that were earlier scheduled have been cancelled at the following hospitals: Burnaby Hospital, Richmond Hospital, St. Paul’s Hospital, Surrey Memorial Hospital, Royal Columbian Hospital, Vancouver General Hospital, Abbotsford General Hospital, and UBC Hospital.
The province said this is a temporary measure to ensure BC can continue to care for everyone who is seriously ill and needs urgent care – whether they have COVID-19 or another illness.
“This is not a decision made lightly. We recognize this will have an impact on those who have been waiting their turn, and we will work to reschedule these surgeries as soon as we can,” Henry said.
