Erie Shores HealthCare hospital in Leamington, Ont., announced Monday it’s opened a clinic geared to treating people with symptoms associated with cold, flu and COVID-19.

It’s meant to treat patients suffering from respiratory illness and deter patients away from over-crowded emergency departments.

Erie Shores’ clinic is an expansion of its current COVID-19 assessment centre, following the same move made by Windsor Regional Hospital two weeks ago. 

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Patients at Erie Shores can now pre-book an appointment to see a doctor or nurse practitioner at the clinic. COVID-19 PCR tests are available there, but only for eligible patients. 

Busy respiratory illness season

Local and provincial health officials warned the public that respiratory illness would be worse this season, and hospitals have been feeling the pinch. 

CBC News reached out to Windsor Regional and Erie Shores hospitals on Monday for an update on current capacity concerns. A spokesperson for the hospital says that information will be provided during a board meeting on Thursday. Erie Shores HealthCare did not respond at the time this article was published. 

About a month ago, Windsor regional’s pediatrics department was operating at 120 per cent capacity, seeing an influx of children with respiratory illnesses.

CBC News reported triple the number of children are going to Ontario emergency departments with respiratory illness, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

As of Monday, respiratory activity in Windsor-Essex is at an “elevated” level for all age groups compared to last week, according to Ontario’s Acute Care Enhanced Surveillance (ACES) database. 

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