Preparing for surgery is different during the COVID-19 pandemic. More precautions need to be taken to ensure the safety of patients, clients, families and health care workers. Please read the following information before your surgery and appointments.
What to expect when you arrive at the hospital
Arrive at the hospital at your scheduled appointment time and follow the instructions provided by your health care provider. Your appointment should be one or two hours before your surgery. If you arrive too early, you may be asked to wait in your vehicle, to limit the number of people in the waiting areas.
All patients are screened before entering the hospital; this involves being asked a series of questions.
When you enter the hospital, clean your hands with hand sanitizer. You must wear a mask when you enter the hospital.
- Medical masks are provided to patients and visitors at the facility entrance.
- Inpatients who can tolerate wearing a medical mask must wear a medical mask when a health care worker is less than two meters (or six feet) away from them.
- Admitted patients circulating outside of their room must wear a medical mask, except for long-term care patients and veterans who are in closed units.
- To learn the right way to put on and remove a mask, follow these links: mask with loops (put on and remove) or mask with ties (put on and remove).
In most cases, updates on your surgery will be provided by phone. The surgeon will contact your support person and/or substitute decision maker using the contact information you provided.
Support person and/or Substitute Decision Maker
Vitalité Health Network has visitor restrictions in place. In other words, your support person and/or substitute decision maker can drop you off at and pick you up from the hospital for your surgery and your appointments but cannot stay at the hospital.
- Provide a phone number for your support person and/or substitute decision maker to your health care team so that the team can reach this person in case of an emergency or ask this person to come and pick-up you from the hospital after your surgery.
- Your health care team will give you instructions for leaving the hospital.
To prevent the spread of COVID-19, keep a physical distance of two metres (or six feet) between yourself and others while you are inside a Network facility. This guideline also applies when you are in line to enter the hospital and when you are in a waiting area.
