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Dr Chris Mackie, a health officer at the Middlesex-London Health Unit, says the University Hospital’s COVID-19 outbreaks are now associated with 10 deaths and over 100 cases.
He also told Global News that the health unit had provided documented advice to the London Health Sciences Center at least five days before further restrictions were finally announced.
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While the first outbreak was declared on November 10, further measures beyond the standard response to the outbreak were not announced until November 27.
By that time, the outbreak had already spread to five other wards and involved at least 61 cases.
“I can tell you that we have provided LHSC advice on this November 22, November 26 – we have given a lot of documented advice, so it is not as if nothing is happening in the meantime,” Mackie said on Let’s talk about London with Jess Brady on Wednesday.
“But absolutely, it would have been really helpful to understand the extent of this sooner so that more definitive measures can be taken.”
Mackie said he was “very satisfied” with the measures that are now in place. He said the health unit is “working with LHSC to make sure they continue to be present. And if the staff are able to follow them, I think we will definitely see a turn around the corner from this outbreak. “
On November 27, LHSC announced that it was postponing non-urgent and non-emergent surgeries and procedures, as well as several other measures that appear to be similar to the recommendations made by the health unit three days earlier.
The measures included masking all adult patients, COVID-19 testing for all hospitalized patients, and limiting the movement of staff and doctors between units and hospitals.
LHSC also introduced visitor restrictions on November 27, implemented as part of an MLHU directive. The restrictions have prevented all visits to university hospital patients during the current epidemic, except in cases where patients are “actively dying”.
Before that, a designated adult patient care partner could visit each day for up to three hours.
“For the most part, people who visit patients in the hospital, it’s not like 15, 20 years ago where it’s really a visit, leaving some journals,” said Dr. Adam Dukelow, medical director of LHSC. London Live with Mike Stubbs.
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“It is actually the people who are helping care for the patient, the person who is in the hospital, both physically and emotionally. We don’t take it lightly when we have to limit access to the institution to visitors and essentially to caregivers. “
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On November 30, the LHSC added that it would reduce outpatient / outpatient activity at UH to only urgent and emerging needs and that it will reschedule all other clinical appointments as virtual appointments whenever possible.
Dukelow told Global News that when it comes to measures “put in place over the past four or five days, the wish is that we would be able to do it sooner.”
“But at the same time, we responded like this as soon as the signal suggested we had to do it,” he explained.
Dukelow said there was a key window “where we went from a few cases to a number of cases” and it was at that point that LHSC realized “that this was more or less your ‘normal’. epidemic”.
He also faced unverified reports that staff from various floors had recently held a potluck.
“We are actively looking into it. The first that our team, at least as far as I know, had heard that it was even just a rumor was last Monday, ”he said.
“As soon as we were alerted (our team) initiated a line of investigation. Likewise, our colleagues in the health unit are also investigating, but we have no further information to confirm that there was a potluck at any time that would be related to the outbreak, but they are actively investigating it. “
When asked for comment, Mackie said his understanding is that the UH investigation is ongoing.
“We certainly don’t have anything definitive,” Mackie said, “but if it was a situation where potluck or house parties or other social gatherings contributed to the spread, it would help explain what we’re seeing.”
Dukelow said earlier on Monday that a potential factor in the extent of the spread of the virus within the hospital could be that staff don’t necessarily always work on the same units, so presymptomatic or asymptomatic staff could have “a shift on one floor. one day and then another plan the next day. “
“We also know that those who become symptomatic are asymptomatic for a couple of days earlier. So I’m 100% confident that none of our employees or team members worked while they were sick, ”Dukelow added on Wednesday.
“However, when you fight this virus and wear a lot of PPE for many, many months, there is no question that fatigue can affect it. And by being in the hospital for 12, sometimes 16, 20 hours or more at a time, they could there be slippages in this “.
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According to the most recent LHSC data, 54 patients and 41 employees and healthcare professionals have tested positive for COVID-19 in relation to the outbreaks.
However, the Middlesex-London Health Unit said 47 staff and health workers and 50 patients are linked to the outbreaks.
Both had confirmed nine deaths associated with the outbreaks as of early Wednesday afternoon, though Mackie told Global News hours later that the outbreak had “passed the 100-case mark” and that “we had a new death today, so the total is now at 10. “
The MLHU also reported that in addition to patient and staff cases linked to outbreaks, there are “a number of additional related cases in the community.”
While the health unit did not provide a definitive update Wednesday on how many cases outside of patients and staff are linked to the outbreak, Mackie said Monday that, at the time, at least 11 secondary cases and one tertiary case were related to the outbreak. ‘epidemic. .
Secondary cases generally involved family members or people within the same family, while the tertiary case Mackie mentioned on Monday involved “a staff person (who) spread to someone else who also spread to someone else”.
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In a statement on Wednesday, Mayor Ed Holder extended his “heartfelt and sincere condolences to family and friends” of those who died in connection with the outbreak, on behalf of all London residents.
“We honor the lives of your loved ones and pray that their memories will bring you peace, comfort and strength during this time of great pain,” she said.
“Like many Londoners, I am incredibly saddened and frustrated by what happened. The source of this outbreak remains under investigation by the London Health Sciences Center and I am confident that the investigation will be thorough. “
Holder also took the opportunity to point out that “London’s healthcare sector is made up of thousands of women and men” who have been “at the forefront every day, working long hours, missing family members and making considerable sacrifices. all in an attempt to save lives and bring comfort to those who are sick. “
“Those people deserve our deepest thanks and admiration.”
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