Eight surgeries, including three cancer procedures, were cancelled at the Royal Alexandra Hospital on Tuesday because of a high number of emergency surgeries.

The hospital was faced with twice the normal number of emergencies over the past 24 hours which also created capacity issues for emergency room beds.

Medical director Dr. William Dickout calls it an “extraordinary situation.”

“We got ourselves into a situation where we had to create some space for even more urgent surgery if you can imagine that,” he said.

Three of the eight cancelled surgeries were for cancer patients. Dickout acknowledged the distress caused by today’s cancellations for patients and their families.

"All surgery is necessary. We don't take the cancellation of any surgery lightly,” he said.

“And so when we looked at our slate, we did the best we could for the day, and we realized that we've impacted the lives of many people seriously, but we will not jeopardize their health in the long run."

Doctors are trying to make sure a similar situation doesn’t arise tomorrow. They are also rescheduling the cancelled surgeries as soon as possible.