September 7, 2021
Dear GEM patients,
We are committed to ensuring that your eye health is monitored appropriately, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although, we have been allowed to increase our services, we are still required to maintain social distancing and wear proper personal protective equipment for your visit to GEM. The following policies will be implemented to ensure quick visits and minimal waiting.
Our office hours will resume to 8 am until 4:30 pm Monday to Friday as of May 11, 2020. Phone calls will be answered between 8:30 am until 11:30am, and 1pm until 4 pm.
We have drastically reduced the number of patient appointments per day. Therefore, doctors will not be able to provide face to face visits for every patient. We will be contacting all our patients to advise on the best option for your eye care visit at this time: interim visit with local optometrist, brief testing visit with technician at GEM followed by a phone call from your doctor, or a clinic visit with your doctor.
We are unable offer visual fields or other testing on the same day as your doctor visit, except in special circumstances. These visits will be separate: one for testing and another to see your doctor. Appointments should take about 20-30 minutes. If your visit is running overtime, your doctor may ask you to schedule a separate appointment, or may opt to call you on the phone for further discussion.
Please note that if you are scheduled for a visit to GEM at this time:
- If you have a cough, fever, tiredness, or "pink eye", have recently traveled out of the province, or been tested or treated for COVID-19, please let us know. We may have to postpone your visit or arrange to see you at Misericordia if you have an eye emergency.
- Please bring your own mask or buy one for $2 at the front desk. The doctor may refuse to examine you if you are not wearing a mask.
- Please arrive on time for your appointment. If you are too early, we may ask you to leave and come back at the right time; if you are late, we may need to reschedule your appointment.
- Any persons accompanying the patient will not be allowed into the clinic area unless absolutely necessary. We ask that they wait downstairs or be called for pick up.
- Please use hand sanitizer on your arrival to the clinic.
- Please try to use the bathroom prior to arriving to the clinic.
Elective eye surgery will resume as of Sept. 1, 2021 at Misericordia Health Centre. We appreciate your patience and understanding as our offices endeavour to prioritize surgeries and address the huge backlog in cataract surgery that has accumulated due to 3 separate COVID-19 elective surgery shutdowns.
If you are concerned about the long wait times for cataract surgery, please contact your MLA and push for more cataract surgery funding and increased capacity to address the surgical backlog.
We encourage all Manitobans to get vaccinated so that we can all be safe. Further lockdown measures and a fourth wave with another elective surgery shutdown will be devastating to the health care system which is already suffering. Please do your part: wear masks indoors, practice social distancing and get vaccinated. It's for everyone's health and safety.
The above policies will be in effect until further notice. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation during this time. Please call GEM clinic if you have any questions or concerns.
All the best for your health and welfare.
GEM Clinic Management
