Here is what is going to happen at London hospitals when Saudi medical students leave

London's hospitals are expectingmounting pressureas91 Saudi Arabian medical students are being forced to leave the country by the end of the month.

Officials with London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) saythey are continuing to make plans on how to deal with the exodus of Saudi residents after their government gave them orders to pack up and leave.

"It was something that caught me by surprise, as I'm sure it caught many people by surprise,"LHSCpresident and CEO Dr. Paul Woods told CBCnews.

"Health care is, by its very nature, one where sudden changes occur on a fairly regular basis."

Woods said they have been compiling atask force approach to solve anticipated problems in the coming weeks, but there will be pressure to keep up with the current levels of care.

Saudi students working in London hospitals are providing direct patient care in all of theLHSC'sclinical programs. That includes departments such asneuroscience, orthopedics andcardiac surgery.

"These learners have been a valuable part of our community for a long time and continue to be," said Woods.

Hospitals plan to maintain current levels of care

Woods saidthe pending work load will ultimately be passed on to the non-Saudi trainees and faculty.

"The impact will definitely be on the basis of manpower, that we are going to have to provide the same level of services with less people," he said.

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"In terms of quality and safety, I don't anticipate any impact because we have contingency plans that are being developed rightnow."

Ultimately, Woods saidfewer people are going to have to provide the same level of service.

There is no indication that any research projects within theLHSCwill be severely impacted by the loss of Saudi students.

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"Those projects may slow down temporarily because of the loss of expertise and loss of students," said Woods.

There is no word if any Saudi faculty are being asked to leave the country.

Support for Saudi students

The residents and fellows are among152students in London who are being forced to relocate by the end of the monthafter receiving an order from their country to leave Canada.

Among them are 131 Western University students and 21FanshaweCollege students.

Many of those students are beingforced to sell their cars, pay off any outstanding debts, prematurely endtheir home leases and cancel all other commitments to relocate.

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"I would hope that there would be some sort of diplomatic solution that would allow the trainees to remain," said Woods.

"They're an important part of our medical community and we'd like to notlose them."

While the LHSC is not directly providing assistance to the Saudi students, Western Universityis working to provide academic support for their transitions.