Ontario Hospital Association Update Regarding Access to Hospital Services On February 11th

Ontario Hospital Association
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Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3L1
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Friday, January 28, 2005

TORONTO - Hilary Short, President and CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association issued the following statement today:

"The Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) survey of hospitals on the potential impact on operating rooms and access to scheduled procedures as the result of the February 11 meeting of anesthesiologists is ongoing. The information we are releasing today is a partial result. We caution against any interpretation or extrapolation of the information as the situation is evolving. Given the appropriate notification process that must take place between physicians and their patients regarding the rescheduling of procedures, the OHA is also not in a position to release a list of reporting hospitals.

As of mid afternoon, 60 of the approximately 135 hospitals that have significant surgical volume have submitted survey responses. There are 159 public hospitals in Ontario.
Approximately one-third of hospitals are served by General Practitioners who are able to provide anesthesiology services who are also not participating in the February 11th meeting. For the most part, these hospitals are located in Northern and rural Ontario.
Of the 60 reporting hospitals, 26 currently report that no operating room closures are planned for February 11th.
34 hospitals currently report that operating rooms are scheduled to be closed on February 11th.
These 34 hospitals have a total reported capacity of 278 operating rooms. As of today, these hospitals report that a total of 178 operating rooms are scheduled to be closed - or 64% of their total reported capacity.
The potential impact varies across regions of Ontario.
Overall, the potential impact is greatest in large urban centres - again, because Northern and rural communities are served by General Practitioners who are able to provide anesthesiology services.
Impact is currently anticipated to be most significant in the Greater Toronto Area due to the concentration of operating room capacity and population.
Teaching hospitals in the GTA are largely unaffected and the reported potential impact is expected to be most significant in large community hospitals."

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For further information:
OHA Public Affairs
416-205-1348