July 28, 2021
EDMONTON – Two of 14 operating rooms (ORs) at the University of Alberta Hospital (UAH) will be temporarily closed as part of the site’s normal surgical slowdown during the summer months, as well as some physician coverage challenges.
These closures are not out of the ordinary. In both 2019 and 2020, two ORs were closed at the site during July and August; and, in 2018, three ORs were closed at the site during the same time period.
The UAH remains open to all patients and a total of 12 ORs remain open and ready to support patients who need care. No surgeries will be postponed or rescheduled as a result of this closure and the site has approximately 1,300 surgeries booked for the coming month.
The two UAH ORs will be closed from July 26 to August 26, 2021. The site continues to monitor staff and physician availability and is working to minimize any possible additional closures that could impact ORs later in the summer.
“It is common, especially in the summer – when staffing levels are historically lower as our healthcare workers take more personal time or vacation – for resources to be adjusted to align with available staff,” said Dr. David Zygun, Edmonton Zone Medical Director.
“Our teams are working hard to balance patient care and service delivery with our available staff and physicians.”
Temporary service slowdowns are not uncommon for Alberta Health Services (AHS), or for any other health system across Canada, especially in the summer. The system is dynamic and services are managed on an hourly basis based on many factors. Healthcare in Alberta is safe and here for anyone who needs it.
“As part of our response to current staffing challenges, AHS is pursuing recruitment strategies that aim to fill existing vacancies and care teams at the UAH are working hard to train all new hires to be prepared in their new roles in the OR,” says Dr. Zygun, who added that the UAH has a new anesthetist arriving in September.
Timely access to surgeries is important to Albertans and the goal is to have no one wait longer than their clinically recommended time for surgery.
AHS’ recovery efforts from the effects of the pandemic includes focusing on Alberta’s Surgical Initiative, which will address the province’s surgical backlog. Sites are at 100 per cent of average pre-COVID surgical levels and performed more non-urgent scheduled surgeries as cases of COVID-19 decline.
The Edmonton Zone is closely monitoring OR case volumes for each site to make sure that each site is able to meet surgical recovery targets.
Alberta Health Services is the provincial health authority responsible for planning and delivering health supports and services for more than four million adults and children living in Alberta. Its mission is to provide a patient-focused, quality health system that is accessible and sustainable for all Albertans.
