adplus-dvertising
Connect with us

Health

COVID-19 patients transferred to Vancouver Island to ease stress on northern ICUs – Toronto Star

Published

 on


The increasing number of people with severe COVID-19 symptoms is stressing ICU capacities in the north and patients have been transferred to other regions to ensure adequate critical care services can continue to be provided in Northern Health, said a spokesperson.

“We are seeing increased need for hospitalizations and patients needing critical care,” said Eryn Collins, Northern Health media relations manager.

On Dec. 4, there were 39 people with COVID-19 listed in Northern Health, with 11 of those patients in critical care. Almost 70 per cent of the total 101 hospitalizations in Northern Health have taken place in the last 34 days.

“We still have capacity to provide critical care in our northern system,” said Eryn Collins. “But we’re also seeing an increase in that level of need, so we’re accessing that capacity elsewhere in the province.”

Recently, two patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were transferred to a Vancouver Island hospital.

“It’s very important in some of our regional hospitals, such as Mills Memorial, that we ensure there is adequate ICU capacity in case of other circumstances that occur,” said Health Minister Adrian Dix on Dec. 3. “For example, the potential – especially this time of year – of a major accident on the highway.”

According to the Ministry of Health, as of Nov. 30, 17 of the 41 ICU and critical care-type beds in Northern Health were vacant and an additional 23 ‘surge’ beds could be deployed, if necessary.

Northern Health has the fewest beds of all the health authorities but it also has the smallest population.

“The capacity and occupancy varies, not just for us, but for every health region in the province,” said Collins.

The ministry’s latest count indicated two of five beds were unoccupied in Mills Memorial Hospital in Terrace; three of four ICU beds were vacant in Fort St. John; eight of 23 beds were vacant at University Hospital of Northern BC in Prince George, and four of 9 beds were open throughout the rest of the north. There were also 100 ventilators across the region, according to Northern Health.

“Where appropriate, patients are moved,” Dix said. “Sometimes from the north to Vancouver Island or Metro Vancouver.”

The ability to transfer patients across health authorities is an essential aspect of the government’s pandemic response plan released in March by Dix, Deputy Health Minister Stephen Brown and Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.

“It was made clear at that time that this was the potential that we would be looking at if we started to see a certain trajectory of COVID activity and hospitalizations,” said Collins. “And we are, along with the rest of the province, seeing those increases.”

About 56 per cent of the people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in the north (and in B.C.) had done so since Oct. 31. Provincially, almost 50 per cent of all hospitalizations have taken place in the last month or so.

As of Dec. 4, in Northern Health, 978 people had tested positive, while 36,132 people had been diagnosed provincially.

Despite the added pressure of COVID-19 patients on the healthcare system, the province continues to have 76 per cent occupancy rate in its critical care beds. When surge beds are included in the ICU count, the occupancy rate drops to less than 65 per cent, said Dix.

The province-wide pandemic strategy outlined how the healthcare system would maintain 17 COVID-19 care sites and ensure adequate capacity under a range of potential pandemic scenarios. The plan revealed the number of acute care beds, ICU-type beds, ventilators, and additional surge beds that could be deployed to meet evolving healthcare demands across B.C. during the pandemic.

“We are using, as is the rest of the province, the capacity that is in the provincial healthcare system… to make sure that we can continue to care for everyone’s needs, not just COVID-related,” said Collins.

Loading…

Loading…Loading…Loading…Loading…Loading…

Patients are commonly transported to other regions for specialized treatment, such as cardiac care in Vancouver or other reasons not to do with COVID-19, Collins said.

“That’s something that happens all the time in health care,” said Dix. “What you are seeing is the public health care system working as it should in a pandemic.”

Fran@thegoatnews.ca / @FranYanor

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Health

Canada to donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to combat mpox outbreaks in Africa

Published

 on

 

The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.

It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.

Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”

Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.

Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.

On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.

Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”

But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”

“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.

Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.

Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.

Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.

“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.

“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Health

How many Nova Scotians are on the doctor wait-list? Number hit 160,000 in June

Published

 on

 

HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.

The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.

Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.

“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”

The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.

A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.

Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.

“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.

Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.

The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.

“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Health

Newfoundland and Labrador monitoring rise in whooping cough cases: medical officer

Published

 on

 

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.

Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.

Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.

Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.

The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.

“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.

Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.

Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.

Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.

A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending