Officials at King’s Daughters Medical Center in Ashland say that equipment issues are forcing them to delay some surgical procedures at the facility and move others to KDMC in Portsmouth, which they say is “fully operational.”
Officials say the issue is tied to new equipment, “Over the past several months, King’s Daughters has been bringing new equipment online to support our Surgical Services. While the equipment is brand new and state-of-the-art, there have been unanticipated issues in installing and putting it into operation. This has caused delays and cancellations of some elective surgical procedures. The issues do not impact the operating rooms themselves, only the support services. “
The hospital says urgent procedures such as births, endoscopy, heart catheterizations, and vascular procedures are not effective. They say the problem is with “elective” procedures. However, one commentator on the statement said their surgery to remove cancerous tumors had been delayed three times, and they weren’t sure how that counted as elective surgery.
The hospital said that after it upgraded to new state-of-the-art equipment, it experienced unanticipated issues with the installation.
The hospital said it would work with other hospitals and EMS to make sure patients received care at the closest, most appropriate facility. “We continue to be fully operational at our Portsmouth, Ohio, hospital and are able to move some elective surgical procedures there. “
Officials emphasized that there were no safety issues for people receiving care at the hospital and that they would work around the clock to resolve the issues. “ We understand this is a disruption for our patients and their families as they have made plans to have these procedures. Our surgeons and their surgical teams care deeply about the health and well-being of their patients and share their frustrations. We appreciate everyone’s continued patience.”