To protect our patients, visitors, healthcare professionals, staff and volunteers, a number of new screening and access measures come into effect this morning at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC).

Effective immediately:

PRHC will limit public access to the hospital building. Patients and visitors should use one of two public entrances: the Emergency Department (ED) entrance or the Cancer Care entrance (next to the main entrance). The Emergency Department is intended fro patients requiring emergency care. Patients and vistiors coming to the Health Centre for other treatment or appointments should use the Cancer Care entrance. Once construction on the main entrance is complete, it will reopen and the Cancer Care entrance will be closed to public access. Our healthcare professionals and staff will have separate designated entrances available 24/7 by secure card access. All other entrances will be closed until further notice.

All patients and visitors will be screened at these two public entrances. Anyone whose travel history and/or symptoms indicate they may be at risk of having the virus will receive direction from the screener, and may be directed away from the hospital and/or advised to contact Telehealth Ontario or Peterborough Public Health for additional information/direction. This process helps to keep everyone safe within the hospital. We continue to ask people to delay coming to the hospital for any non-urgent appointments, procedures or visit.

Visitors will be limited to one person per patient. Exceptions may be made for patients in palliative care.

Effective immediately, out of an abundance of precaution, all PRHC Volunteers will be removed from areas of service throughout the Health Centre.

If you suspect you might have COVID-19, do not come to the Emergency Department:

  1. Complete the COVID-19 Self-Assessment on the Ontario.ca/coronavirus page
  2. Based on the results of your self-assessment, contact Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000 or Peterborough Public Health at 705-743-1000 x. 401
  3. If your symptoms are severe, call 911 and alert the dispatcher to your travel history and symptoms

For the most recent information on COVID-19, please visit ontario.ca/coronavirus or peterboroughpublichealth.ca. PRHC is also providing news, updates, information and resources on its designated COVID-19 website.

-30-

For more information:
Michelene Ough
Director, Communications
mough@prhc.on.ca