COVID-19 pandemic inpatient bed allocation planning – A Canada-wide approach

A Canada-wide survey was disseminated to collect information regarding changes in processes related to providing care to patients on inpatient psychiatry units in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our aim was to share this information with those who have an interest in problem-solving these signifi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:General hospital psychiatry 2021-03, Vol.69, p.126-128
Main Authors: Paletta, Antonio, Yu, Dorothy, Li, Daniel, Sareen, Jitender
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Canada
COVID-19
Health Care Rationing
Hospital Bed Capacity
Hospital Planning
Hospital Units
Humans
Inpatients
Letter to the Editor
Pandemic
Patient Isolation
Physical Distancing
Planning
Psychiatric Department, Hospital
Psychiatry
SARS-CoV-2
Surveys and Questionnaires
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Summary:A Canada-wide survey was disseminated to collect information regarding changes in processes related to providing care to patients on inpatient psychiatry units in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our aim was to share this information with those who have an interest in problem-solving these significant and unique challenges. The survey was distributed through the Association of Chairs of Psychiatry of Canada to Department Heads of Psychiatry at all sixteen medical schools. Information was collected via SurveyMonkey April 26–May 9, 2020. Eleven psychiatrists representing 11 different Canadian city/centre/zone(s) completed the survey. Information was collected about process changes: physical separation on the wards, symptom and vital signs screening, testing, isolation, rationales for number of beds allocated for COVID-positive, −suspect and -negative patients and for selecting a particular hospital to provide care to these different groupings of patients. One subsection of the information is presented in this letter. Further information is available upon request. Similarities and differences existed between city/centre/zone(s) regarding approaches to providing care to patients on inpatient psychiatry wards. Significant preparation and consideration was put into determining necessary changes in response to this pandemic, and this is reflected in the information provided from each city/centre/zone.
ISSN:0163-8343
1873-7714
DOI:10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2020.12.015