With the first cases of flu now confirmed in our community and across the province, Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC), the Peterborough Family Health Team, and Peterborough Public Health have been working together to ensure resources are available to meet the increased demand for health care services.
While the hospital has taken steps to meet the “seasonal surge” (including hiring more than 100 new nurses over the past year), it continues to see significant increases in the number of patients through its doors.
If you get sick over the holidays, the emergency department at PRHC is not your only option, according to PRHC’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Nancy White.
“We ask that people assess the urgency of their illness before deciding whether to seek care with their family practitioner, a community clinic, or the emergency department,” Dr. White says.
If you get the flu and you are healthy, you may be able to take care of yourself at home without the need for medical care. However, if you think you may need medical care and you have a family doctor, consider the following options before heading to the emergency department:
- Call the office of your family doctor or nurse practitioner, which will offer same-day access instructions through voicemail.
- Visit www.peterboroughfht.com for your family doctor’s clinic hours and information.
- If you are uncertain about how or whether to seek medical care, call the 24-hour Telehealth Ontario line at 1-866-797-0000 speak to a registered nurse.
If you have a child under the age of 18 and do not have a family doctor (or if you can’t get an appointment with your family doctor), you can visit the PRHC’s Pediatric Outpatient Program (POP) Urgent Care Clinic. The walk-in clinic, intended for children with urgent but non-life-threatening injuries or illnesses, will continue to offer extended after-hours care through the month of December.
The POP Urgent Care Clinic is open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on December 24th, 29th, 31st and January 1st, and from 2 to 6 p.m. on December 27th and 28th. The clinic is closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day (December 25th and 26th) and on Sunday, December 30th.
For people with a family doctor, the Peterborough Family Health Team encourages you to consider the above options before visiting the emergency department.
“Your family doctor has the advantage of access to your medical records, and all offices have same-day appointments available for access when medically needed,” says Dr. Kaetlen Wilson, Medical Director for the Peterborough Family Health Team.
For “unattached patients” (people who don’t have a family doctor), the Peterborough Family Health Team has also recently launched two new clinics: the Peterborough Virtual Care Clinic in Peterborough and the Peterborough Family Health Team Clinic in Lakefield provide care to patients in Peterborough City and County. Unattached patients who visit either of these clinics will be placed on a wait list for a new family doctor.
Patients with a family doctor can access same-day appointments and the extended hours service. For details and hours of operation, visit www.peterboroughfht.com.
If these options are unavailable to you or you decide you need urgent medical care, you can head to the emergency department of PRHC at 1 Hospital Drive in Peterborough.
If you have any flu symptoms — such as cough, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, or headache — when you go to the PRHC emergency department, Dr. White asks that you wear a mask to protect others from potential exposure to the virus. Masks are available inside the entrance to the emergency department.
For its part, Peterborough Public Health is remindimg people the best way to avoid getting the flu in the first place is to get immunized.
The flu shot is free and widely available at many local pharmacies and your doctor’s office. You can easily find out where the flu shot is available by visiting www.peterboroughpublichealth.ca/flu. Peterborough Public Health also continues to offer flu shot appointments for children under five years old; call 705-743-1000 ext. 349.
“As influenza circulates in the Peterborough community, the flu shot may help keep you well over the holidays,” says Medical Officer of Health Dr. Rosana Salvaterra. “It also prevents you from spreading it to people who are at the greatest risk of getting seriously ill if they get the flu: seniors and young children.”
Dr. Salvaterra is also reminding people the flu shot takes two weeks to become effective, so the sooner you get the shot during flu season the better.
