Alberta health authorities walk back maternity ward policy allowing COVID-positive visitors
Posted Nov 11, 2021 8:39 am.
Last Updated Nov 12, 2021 9:14 am.
After causing a lot of uproar, Alberta Health Services (AHS) has walked back and will not allow people with COVID-19 symptoms or diagnoses into maternity wards.
Last month, a note posted in hospitals and shared online said if a designated support person was feeling ill or showing symptoms they would not be turned away.
READ MORE: ‘Extremely dangerous’: COVID-19 positive person can support pediatric, maternity patients in Alberta hospitals
That practice has been terminated, Alberta Health says, following discussion with AHS.
“To ensure sufficient capacity in our health system, it was determined that health care facilities were unable to provide the additional protections required to permit these individuals to be the essential support persons for obstetrics patients,” reads a statement from Alberta Health.
“Maternity patients are still able to have visitors/designated support persons, as outlined in the AHS policy.”
Emergency care physician Dr. Joe Vipond had said the policy allowing COVID-sock visitors and support persons was an “extremely dangerous situation” for AHS to be putting everybody into.
