Health-care officials in Perth and Huron counties are expanding the scope of the region’s COVID-19 assessment centres as they attempt to cut down on unnecessary visits to the Stratford area’s busy emergency rooms.
Selena Hazlitt, the director of the Huron Perth and Area Ontario Health Team, said Thursday that the move – happening at the request of Ontario Health, the crown agency overseeing much of the province’s health-care system – means increasing capacity at the clinics in order to ease the burden mild and moderate cold and flu cases are having on local hospitals.
“We want to provide options, especially for non-rostered patients, someone who doesn’t have a family physician,” Hazlitt said, “and also remind people who do have a family physician that their first point of contact for mild and moderate symptoms is their family doctor.
Health-care officials began making doctors available at the region’s COVID-19 centres in the fall of 2021, but this year’s cold and flu season has hit particularly hard. Unlike last year, the early arrival of the flu and a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) to which kids are especially vulnerable is currently squeezing the province’s hospitals and pediatric centres.
The Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance, a group of administrators that oversee hospitals in Stratford, St. Marys, Clinton and Seaforth, offered a social media update this week on the impacts this cold and flu season is having locally.
According to a thread on Twitter, 27 patients have been admitted with influenza, including 13 who were six years of age or younger, since the beginning of November. Another 22 patients were admitted with RSV, including 16 within that age range. At the same time, 21 patients tested positive for COVID-19, including one younger than six.
Meanwhile, Huron Perth public health announced this week it is extending the availability of flu shots at local COVID-19 vaccine clinics until the end of December.
The health unit began offering flu shots at those clinics in mid-November and “has seen good uptake,” according to a press release. Anyone aged five and older who is receiving a COVID-19 vaccination can also receive a flu shot if they wish, but the health unit not offering flu shots on their own at those clinics.
“I strongly recommend that everyone six months and older get a flu shot, especially as we head into the busy holiday season,” said Dr. Miriam Klassen, the region’s medical officer of health. “Influenza is a serious illness that can lead to severe outcomes to the very young, the very old and those who are immunocompromised. The flu shot is your best defence against the flu.”
A list of area COVID-19 vaccination clinics for the month of December is available online at hpph.ca/getvaccinated.
Besides making changes to the region’s assessment centres, the Huron Perth and Area Ontario Health Team has also launched a new webpage aimed at helping patients, families and caregivers navigate colds, RSV, flu and COVID-19.
Learn more at hpaoht.ca/pfc-resources.
“Viruses and other illnesses are running rampant this winter and our health-care system is seeing a large influx of emergency department visits that may be unnecessary,” said Dr. Kim Gilmour, the local Ontario Health Team’s primary care clinical lead. “Most respiratory illness including colds, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and COVID-19 can be managed at home without the need for prescription medications.
Actions you can take before heading to an emergency department with cold and flu symptoms:
- Call your family doctor to discuss symptoms to determine if you need to visit your doctor or the emergency department.
- Access virtual urgent care – appointment costs are fully covered with an Ontario health card.
- For adults and children: Book an appointment via urgentcareontario.ca
- For children: Book an appointment with London Health Science Centre’s Children’s Emergency Department at lhsc.on.ca/emergency-department or call 519-685-8735 between 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
- Use Health Connect Ontario
- Book an appointment at a COVID, Cold and Flu Care Clinic.
- COVID, Cold and Flu Care Clinics (CCFCCs) are for patients with moderate or worsening respiratory symptoms, or patients directed by their health-care provider to visit for care.
- These clinics offer access to assessment, testing and treatment without going to a hospital. If you can’t be seen by a family doctor, these clinics are a great option.
Goderich: 519-612-2320
Grand Bend: 519-238-2362 x1 or visit gbachc.ca
Stratford: 519-272-8210 x 2747
SOURCE: Huron Perth and Area Ontario Health Team
