Windsor Regional Hospital installing new radiation treatment bunker

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In what the hospital describes as a “historic day for cancer treatment,” sections of a new radiation treatment bunker were being installed outside Windsor Regional Hospital’s cancer centre this week.

The bunker will house a linear accelerator, which performs radiation therapy procedures. Once upgrades are complete, the hospital will have four machines available.

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The hospital’s three existing linear accelerators see 300,000 patients flow through annually.

The province approved the project to go out to tender last year as part of a $30-million investment announced in January 2023.

Also this week, Windsor Regional Hospital updated its masking protocols. Effective Friday, employees, professional staff, and volunteers are required to wear masks when within two metres of any patient.

Additional personal protective equipment, such as gowns and eye protection, may be required for specific patients, or when a unit is experiencing an outbreak of COVID-19.

The masking protocol is in response to a predicted increase in COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses circulating in the community, the hospital said.

The hospital recommends that visitors wear a mask when within two metres of patients.

With the exception of symptomatic patients, masking is not required in non-clinical areas, such as main lobbies, waiting areas, cafeterias, and elevators.

But masking remains highly recommended for visitors and patients in waiting rooms and lounges in high-risk areas, such as dialysis, emergency departments, and the cancer centre.

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