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TinniTus soluTions wax reMoval on-siTe Hearing aid repair & Cleaning Lakeridge Health says it will "reduce" the number of elective in-patient surgeries through to Dec. 10. The hospital system has been hit with a wave of respiratory illnesses, particularly among young people, in the past month. A triple-demic of influenza A, RSV, and COVID-19 cases has seen Emergency Departments hit hard. Lakeridge Health's four emergency departments have seen an increase in admissions of 300 per cent alone among those under 18 between Sept. 27 and Nov. 5. "As a result of the increase of respiratory illnesses impacting many young people, hospitals across Ontario, including Lakeridge Health, continue to see a high volume of pediatric patients," a statement from Lakeridge Health said Thursday, Nov. 10. "To ensure the safest environment for patients, while balancing critical staffing resources and increase patient volumes during this challenging time, we have had to make the difficult decision to reduce the number of elective in-patient surgeries for an interim period beginning today (Nov. 10) through to Dec. 10. This initiative will further enable our hospital teams to better support acute pediatric patient access and respond to urgent needs in Durham Region." Meanwhile, a report from Critical Care Services Ontario's daily census shows 122 pediatric ICU patients in Ontario hospital beds, up from 111 the day before. Ontario only has 112 pediatric ICU beds. The decision to reduce elective surgeries also comes when Ontario's hospital emergency departments are overrun and hit by staffing shortages. Just last month, Durham's paramedics and Lakeridge Health released a joint statement that emergency departments "continue to experience critical staffing shortages and high patient volumes." A list of urgent care options is available on the Lakeridge Health website, which also features a new tracker that provides approximate wait times to see a doctor. "We understand how difficult this decision can be for patients and their families. The decision to do so was not taken lightly. Our teams continue to work with families to reschedule all deferred surgical procedures. At this time, all urgent and priority pediatric surgeries are continuing across Lakeridge Health," concluded the statement. LAKERIDGE HEALTH REDUCING ELECTIVE SURGERY UNTIL DEC. 10 TIM KELLY tkelly@durhamregion.com NEWS 'HOSPITALS ACROSS ONTARIO, INCLUDING LAKERIDGE HEALTH, CONTINUE TO SEE A HIGH VOLUME OF PEDIATRIC PATIENTS': STATEMENT Land currently protected under the Greenbelt in Clarington, Ajax and Pickering could be swapped out by the provincial government in an effort to build more homes. On Friday, Nov. 4, Steve Clark, minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, issued a statement regarding the launch of a 30-day consultation to facilitate the building of more homes while adding to the Greenbelt, but taking other pieces away. The government recently introduced the More Homes Built Faster Act to address Ontario's housing supply crisis by building 1.5 million homes over the next 10 years. "Today, we are taking further action to support this goal by launching a consultation on proposed changes to the Greenbelt," Clark said. "These proposals will support our municipal partners' plans for responsible growth and help build at least 50,000 new homes, while leading to an overall expansion of the Greenbelt." To accommodate growth and immigration targets, the province is proposing to remove 15 areas of land totalling approximately 7,400 acres from the edge of the Greenbelt area. This includes land located in Clarington at the northwest corner of Nash and Hancock roads, in Ajax at 765 Kingston Road E. and 775 Kingston Road E., and land in Pickering, south of Hwy. 407, west of West Duffins Creek and north of the CP Belleville rail line. Should these lands be removed from the Greenbelt, the landowners will be expected to develop detailed plans to build housing quickly. The government expects new home construction to begin on these lands by no later than 2025, and that significant progress on approvals and implementation must be achieved by the end of 2023. If these conditions are not met, the government will return these properties to the Greenbelt. The government proposes adding an additional 9,400 acres to the Greenbelt, including parts of the Paris Galt Moraine. The government is also looking to "redesignate lands in the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan Area that could be suitable for residential development in the near term." The comment period is open until Monday Dec. 5. LOCAL GREENBELT PARCELS COULD BE DEVELOPED KRISTEN CALIS KCalis@durhamregion.com PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT PROPOSES SWAPPING OUT 15 GREENBELT PARCELS