Non-urgent surgeries won't resume for 'some time': Windsor hospital president

Ontario's recent announcement about the resumption of non-urgent surgeries as of Monday was "premature," the president and CEO of the Windsor Regional Hospital said.

In a media call on Friday, David Musyj said it will likely be some time before surgeries will resume.

"What is being suggested — and we're just hearing this peripherally, it's got to be announced — is it's going to happen in phases," he said. "It's going to happen slowly. It's going to be just like the economy, where they do one phase, they wait a week or two, certain criteria must be met before they open it up further."

Musyj said the first phase won't see surgeries resume. Rather, it will likely be a week or two before non-urgent surgeries actually start taking place.

The province on Thursday announced some surgeries, which were paused earlier this month due to the rise in Omicron cases, could resume as of Monday, when the province begins to lift COVID-19 restrictions.

"Whatever was released [Thursday] is really premature," Musyj said. "We've got to wait to hear the official word from the province next week, but it's going to be time. It's not going to be a snap of the fingers, and all of a sudden we're back to normal, because we're not."

A spokesperson for Health Minister Christine Elliott said Thursday that pediatrics, diagnostic services, cancer screenings, and some ambulatory clinics can resume Monday.

The spokesperson said, however, that doesn't mean all hospitals will immediately resume those services.