KHSC announces changes to COVID-19 testing at Beechgrove Assessment Centre

After the provincial government announced a variety of changes with regard to COVID-19 Public Health regulations, Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC) is addressing some of the changes that will be occurring at the local Assessment Centre here in Kingston.

KHSC, which oversees the operations of a number of healthcare facilities locally including Kingston General Hospital (KGH) and Hotel Dieu Hospital (HDH), admitted that the changes being announced on Friday, Dec. 31, 2021 were only some of the changes as a result of the provincial announcements.

“In response to changes to testing guidelines announced by the provincial government, Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC) will be announcing more information next week with regards to booking COVID-19 PCR test appointments at the Beechgrove Assessment Centre for eligible individuals,” the organization said in a press release.

In the meantime, KHSC said, the following steps will be in place for COVID-19 testing at the Beechgrove Assessment Centre:

• All appointments currently booked for this weekend (from Friday, Dec. 31, 2021, through Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022) will be honoured by the Beechgrove Assessment Centre.
• Evening clinic appointments at the Beechgrove Assessment Centre (previously referred to as pop-up test clinics, the services for which are contracted out by KHSC to GVT Labs) will be honoured on January 2 and 3, 2022.
• New appointments will not be available to be booked until Monday, Jan. 3, 2021, when KHSC is, “able to align our booking process with the new testing guidelines announced by the province.”

“KHSC would like to remind individuals experiencing mild COVID-19 symptoms to self-isolate,” the local healthcare organization said in the media release.

“Individuals with more severe COVID-19 symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, should visit the Urgent Care Centre at Hotel Dieu Hospital or the Emergency Department at Kingston General Hospital.”