Corner Brook -
Western Health says it has a number of continuity plans in place should H1N1 influenza A become overwhelming to the system.
Dr. Ken Jenkins, vice-president of medical services, said the health authority ordered eight new ventilators and six new transport ventilators when planning for a possible swine flu pandemic.
They have since gotten that equipment and put it to work.
As of 5 p.m. Thursday there were 19 people in the western region in hospital with swine flu. Of those 19, six were in intensive care and two of them were on ventilators.
Wednesday there had been 27 cases of influenza-like illness in Western Health hospitals, with five patients in intensive care and three on ventilators.
It is too early to say if the drop in numbers is a sign that this wave of H1N1 is near its end.
"The numbers are going to be up and down as we move through it," Jenkins said. "Given the short period of time and the small changes up or down, it's difficult to say whether we're seeing a trend at this point in time."
Should hospital resources get overcome by cases, there are a number of alternate sites which could be used including the Stephenville Dome, which is a part of Western Health's business continuity plan.
It's a possible resource for Sir Thomas Roddick Hospital as overflow should H1N1 overrun the facility with seriously ill people.
There are other places that can be used under the plan for similar purposes for other institutions.
There is also an area of Western Memorial Regional Hospital that's been set aside as a back-up intensive-care unit, if there are too many critically ill people to be handled by the main intensive-care unit.
