Niagara Health bands with other health units to transfer patients if needed
Published January 31, 2022 at 12:41 pm
Working in unison with the health units from Hamilton, Haldimand, Brant and Burlington, the Niagara Health hospitals have joined with the others to transfer patients to the units best suited to handle individual health situations.
With the resources of all five health units stretched to their limits, critical care patients may be shifted between the units with the patient landing in the units able to handle their needs.
“To ensure available critical care capacity in the region for patients who require it, HNHBB (the five units) hospitals have undertaken a common approach to identify and, if necessary, direct transfers of critical care patients to other hospitals outside of the region,” said Niagara Health in a release.
However, they added, all transfers will be done with caution. “Together, as a region, we will assess which critical care patients are medically suitable to be transferred.”
Aside from potential stresses to the patients themselves, Niagara Health is mindful of the patients’ families. “In all cases, the patient’s medical team will work closely with the patient, their loved ones, and the receiving care team to ensure that the process is as comfortable as possible.”
“We know that it causes worry and stress for our patients and their families when they are transferred to a different hospital. We hope that these measures will be very temporary as we begin to see signs of improvement in the course of the pandemic.”
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