Nearly 16,000 people are waiting for surgeries and procedures in Waterloo Wellington after the pandemic forced hospitals to pause non-emergent services.

An update from Waterloo Wellington hospitals said wait lists were already a challenge before the Omicron wave forced hospitals to scale back services while they cared for COVID-19 patients.

"Although we've plateaued and we're coming down the other side of the curve, that curve was very high," said Lee Fairclough, regional COVID-19 lead and president or St. Mary’s General Hospital. "We are still caring for a number of new patients with COVID-19. The number of patients that are no longer infectious, but still in our care, is triple that.

"It is improving though, and certainly the number of staff that are off sick with COVID-19 or impacted by it has also reduced. We're under 200."

A total of 15,937 patients are currently waiting for a procedure. The hospital update said 56 per cent of those patients need cataract procedures.

“We do know that patients who are waiting for surgeries and procedures are very anxious to receive care, and this certainly weighs heavy on our minds,” said Fairclough in the release. “Patients are sharing their frustrations with us, and many are fearful or angry at the current circumstances. So many sacrifices have been made throughout the pandemic by everyone— ones that continue to be made. Regional hospitals are doing everything we can to prepare for the gradual ramp up of surgeries and procedures across our hospitals. We are working very hard to bring patients back in for care, as quickly and as safely as we can.”

Here's a breakdown of backlogged cases at local hospitals, not including endoscopy procedures:

  • Cambridge Memorial Hospital - 1,922 (1,337 are cataract day-surgery patients)
  • Grand River Hospital - 2,254
  • Groves Memorial Community Hospital – 176
  • Guelph General Hospital - 4,095 (2,400 are cataract day-surgery patients)
  • St. Mary’s General Hospital - 7,490 (5,286 are cataract day-surgery patients)

“Strong vaccination rates and continued adherence to public health measures locally have resulted in the decline of COVID-19 cases in hospitals,” the update said. “However, Omicron continues to have an impact on both patients and staff, and patients that are in our care often remain very sick requiring longer stays.”

There are currently seven ICU beds available across Waterloo Wellington hospitals.

"Unvaccinated people have a six times higher risk of being in hospital and a 12 times higher risk of being in the ICU compared to people who have received at least two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine," said Dr. Hsiu-Lil Wang, Medical Officer of Health for the Region of Waterloo.

The report also shows a shortage of 13 medical/surgical beds.

Here is a further breakdown of data about COVID-19 patients:

COVID hospital WW

COVID staff WW