Distributed by e-mail February 27, 2016
In this update:
- Thank you to the dozens of family doctors who have offered to accept Syrian newcomers -- more are coming.
- Significant TB exposure in London related to healthcare provider.
Additional family physicians needed to care for Syrian newcomers and end of funding for Urgent Care clinics for Syrian newcomers
Canada has welcomed almost 25 000 Syrian newcomers, and more are on the way. The Middlesex-London region has greeted more than 820 government-assisted newcomers with an estimated 900 more to arrive by the end of the year.
In order to reduce the burden on the rest of the system, several agencies have come together to offer urgent care clinics for the newcomers, with translation services on site. The Middlesex-London Health Unit has also been asked to provide on-site and specialized immunization services for Syrian newcomers.
To assist in the settlement process, we are seeking more family physicians to accept these newcomers. If you are able, please consider taking on a family or two. Those who are interested can contact Dr. Bhooma Bhayana at bbhayana@uwo.ca or Dr. Natalie Lovesey at nlovesey@gmail.com.
Thank you to the physicians who have already come forward to accept newcomers into their practices. Please be advised that a process is in place and patients are currently being booked for appointments in your practice. Thank you too to Drs. Bhayana and Lovesey for their dedication and leadership in coordinating and finding family physicians for our Syrian newcomers.
Significant TB exposure in London related to healthcare provider
The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) has been working closely with London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) and St. Joseph’s Health Care London (St. Joseph’s) to identify those at risk of a potential tuberculosis (TB) exposure, and to notify the affected individuals. The individual who has been identified as having tuberculosis is a health care provider who worked at both hospitals.
Contact has been initiated with all staff and patients who have been identified as having possible exposure to this individual, either by phone, hand delivered letter, or both. There is no ongoing risk of spread.
The risk of contracting TB from an infected person through casual or short term contact is low, and we do not believe there is a high risk of disease spread within the hospitals as a result of this exposure.
The MLHU is available to those with further questions about TB at (519) 663-5317 ext. 5253, or TBinfo@mlhu.on.ca. Additional information about TB and TB treatment is available at www.healthunit.com/tuberculosis.