Thursday, May 20, 2021 - TEC resumes non-urgent procedures

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On Tuesday, May 19, 2021 the chief medical officer of health has rescinded directive 2 which previously advised health care facilities to ramp down non-urgent elective procedures. Therefore, TEC will now resume non-urgent elective procedures to assist with the growing backlog of procedures in Ontario, now estimated to be +250 000 procedures. While it may take more than 3 years to catch up, TEC will continue to support our patients by ensuring that we schedule all appointments in a timely manner. Furthermore, we are exploring opportunities to increase our capacity with longer operating hours and more weekend bookings. While we are encouraged by the decreasing number of Covid 19 infections, TEC will continue to implement, assess, and enhance our infection prevention and control protocols to keep everyone safe. 

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Monday, April 19, 2021 - TEC supports pandemic response

 

On Friday, April 16, 2021 the government of Ontario issued escalated lock down orders to address the rapid rise in Covid 19 infections, largely due to VOC (variant of concerns). The escalated stay home directives ask that people remain at home where possible, and only leave for groceries, exercise, and medical appointments. Most new cases of Covid 19 are occurring in congregate settings, and amongst non-vaccinated essential workers. At TEC, our staff and physicians have received the vaccine which has been shown to be effective against the Covid 19 VOC. As our hospitals are coping with surging Covid 19 admissions, elective procedures have been ramped down so that staff in those areas can be redeployed to help out in the ICU and in the general internal medicine units to care for patients with Covid 19. As patients have reduced access to elective endoscopy in hospitals, TEC will continue to support hospital and our patients by continuing with operations. We recognize that there are patients with urgent GI needs, or undiagnosed cancers that require attention. As hospitals focus on patients with Covid 19, TEC will remain dedicated to looking after patients with urgent GI needs, some of whom have cancer. During the pandemic, TEC continues to deliver exceptional care to our patients, while maintaining the highest standards in infection prevention.

 

TEC Covid 19 Protocols to Keep You Safe

 

• Every patient on the premise is masked.

• Staff are in full PPE – head covering, goggles and/or face mask,  medical grade masks, full gowns.

• Physical distancing with signage throughout.

• Longer booking times and appropriate intervals between patient appointments

• Staff and physicians are vaccinated.

• Wipe down of high touch surfaces with disinfectants between patients.

• Frequent disinfection of premise, including chairs and door handles.

• 3 stage Covid screening (telephone pre-procedure, upon arrival, and pre-procedure)

• Temperature taking and recording of all patients, staff, and physicians.

• No procedures on patients with active Covid 19 infections.