A gastrointestinal outbreak has swept through three units at Royal Inland Hospital and at the Hillside Psychiatric Centre

Hospital spokesperson Susan Duncan says vigorous cleaning procedures are now being taken by staff.

“So far we have got 16 patients impacted in the hospital itself and 11 staff as of Tuesday. At Hillside we have had seven patients and 13 staff members showing symptoms.”

Duncan says the outbreak has now caused 13 surgeries scheduled for Thursday to be postponed.

“These precautions may mean congestion in the emergency department and the public is advised a wait to see a physician may be longer than normal. We would ask people with non-emergent illnesses to contact their family doctor or a walk in clinic.”

She adds for anyone experiencing a medical emergency they should report to the ER as normal.

Duncan says it is business as usual at the hospital.

“People are able to come and they are even allowed to visit people on the wards that are impacted. Those wards are 4 North, 5 South, and 7 North. If they are ill they should stay home. People who do visit should be very careful to wash their hands with soap and water or an alcohol based sanitizer.”

She says people may want to postpone their visit but they won’t be restricted from visiting.

“The precautions we are taking are in accordance with an outbreak response management plan. So the hospital will not admit patients to those three affected wards and the patients on those wards who are waiting for admission to long term care or assisted living facilities will also not be transferred until the outbreak is over.”

Duncan says there are no hard and fast rules for when an outbreak is over but generally the rule of thumb is 96 hours or two 48 hour incubation periods after the last case is identified.

She adds in this case each unit is being treated individually.