Rise in COVID-19 cases results in more surgeries being postponed in Alberta - CTV News Calgary | Canada News Media
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Rise in COVID-19 cases results in more surgeries being postponed in Alberta – CTV News Calgary

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CALGARY —
Alberta Health Services (AHS) is taking further steps to ease the burden on the province’s health care system, now that COVID-19 cases are spiking once more.

Starting Friday morning, the agency says it will be postponing scheduled non-urgent surgeries and procedures across all five of Alberta’s health zones.

The move comes approximately a week after AHS said it would be delaying 30 per cent of non-urgent surgeries in the Edmonton and North zones.

“The number of Albertans needing ICU care has increased rapidly in the past week,” said AHS CEO Dr. Verna Yiu Friday. “While our front line teams are doing an incredible job in caring for Albertans, we need your help.”

AHS released the following details on the scheduled postponements:

  • Up to 60 per cent of surgeries in the North zone;
  • Up to 40 per cent of endoscopy procedures and up to 30 per cent of schedule surgeries in the Central Zone and;
  • Up to 30 per cent of scheduled surgeries, endoscopy and outpatient visits in the Calgary and South zones.

The Edmonton zone will also see delayed procedures and surgeries increase to about 50 per cent, 20 per cent more than what was previously announced.

All urgent and emergent procedures will still occur, as will priority cancer surgeries.

“The specific number of postponements will be determined by the zone. All patients affected will be contacted directly by Alberta Health Services,” Yiu said.

PATIENTS CONTINUE LONG WAIT FOR PROCEDURES

Gail Langley has been waiting for a hip replacement surgery for more than 18 months and is taking desperate measures to improve her quality of life.

“I’ve sold my house hoping for a big profit so I could access private surgery, moved into a condo, and downsized due to a decline in my mobility,” she said.

“As a senior on a fixed retirement budget even with the sale of my small home I cannot afford the $35,000-$45,000 fee for what has now become an issue with my knee and both hips.”

Langley says her doctors are continuing to encourage her to contact her local MLA or explore private care at her own expense.

“I’ve explored going to Medicine Hat, Lethbridge and even rural hospitals, but I’m just told I’m on a list and would not be put on more than one list in Alberta.”

ALBERTA’S ICU CAPACITY AT 95%

While Yiu pressed the importance of Albertans getting vaccinated and the changes to surgical times, she also revealed that the province’s intensive care units are close to capacity.

“It was 95 per cent provincially. I think one of the benefits of an integrated provincialized system is that we are actually able to work provincially to make sure we are able to spread the resources across the province.

“While Edmonton may be very tight, we know that we potentially have more spaces in Calgary and in South zone. So understanding that we are able to shift the resources to make sure we’ve got adequate resources across the province.”

Changes are also being made to add care beds in Calgary and Edmonton to improve access for patients.

They include five beds in the Pandemic Response Unit (PRU) at Calgary’s South Health Campus for day medicine patients. Edmonton’s PRU at the Kaye Edmonton Clinic is also being looked at as a way to free up more beds in the next few weeks.

AHS is also asking staff members, both part-time and casual, to consider taking extra shifts, as it says hospitals and care centres are still facing a staffing crunch.

“We do not make these decisions lightly and we acknowledge that postponing procedures and surgeries has a very deep impact on impacted patients, their families and loved ones,” Yiu said. “But it is imperative that we maintain capacity in our hospitals, not just for patients with COVID-19, but for any Alberta who needs care.”

‘WE’VE BEEN ASKING GOVERNMENT TO STEP UP’: UNITED NURSES OF ALBERTA

The United Nurses of Alberta are expressing concern and disappointment with provincial health leadership in the province as a result of the decision to postpone non-urgent surgeries.

Local 115 President, Kevin Champagne says the government should have anticipated this and been proactive in taking measures beforehand.

“Because this decision was made within the last 48 hours to reassign nurses, there isn’t a time to provide orientation or buddy shifts for nurses so that means you have to utilize the human resources that had previous training in those areas and those nurses need a break,” he said.

“It’s just unfair to continue to put unfair pressure on us, we have nurses more than ever going  to physicians at this point in time because their mental health has been impacted and they’re burning out.”

Champagne adds that vacations are also being cancelled for nurses to ensure proper staffing for ICU beds.

“If it’s okay for our premier to take vacation for his burnout. You would think it reasonable for nurses to take a vacation.”

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Telus prioritizing ‘most important customers,’ avoiding ‘unprofitable’ offers: CFO

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Telus Corp. says it is avoiding offering “unprofitable” discounts as fierce competition in the Canadian telecommunications sector shows no sign of slowing down.

The company said Friday it had fewer net new customers during its third quarter compared with the same time last year, as it copes with increasingly “aggressive marketing and promotional pricing” that is prompting more customers to switch providers.

Telus said it added 347,000 net new customers, down around 14.5 per cent compared with last year. The figure includes 130,000 mobile phone subscribers and 34,000 internet customers, down 30,000 and 3,000, respectively, year-over-year.

The company reported its mobile phone churn rate — a metric measuring subscribers who cancelled their services — was 1.09 per cent in the third quarter, up from 1.03 per cent in the third quarter of 2023. That included a postpaid mobile phone churn rate of 0.90 per cent in its latest quarter.

Telus said its focus is on customer retention through its “industry-leading service and network quality, along with successful promotions and bundled offerings.”

“The customers we have are the most important customers we can get,” said chief financial officer Doug French in an interview.

“We’ve, again, just continued to focus on what matters most to our customers, from a product and customer service perspective, while not loading unprofitable customers.”

Meanwhile, Telus reported its net income attributable to common shares more than doubled during its third quarter.

The telecommunications company said it earned $280 million, up 105.9 per cent from the same three-month period in 2023. Earnings per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was 19 cents compared with nine cents a year earlier.

It reported adjusted net income was $413 million, up 10.7 per cent year-over-year from $373 million in the same quarter last year. Operating revenue and other income for the quarter was $5.1 billion, up 1.8 per cent from the previous year.

Mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.85 in the third quarter, a decrease of $2.09 or 3.4 per cent from a year ago. Telus said the drop was attributable to customers signing up for base rate plans with lower prices, along with a decline in overage and roaming revenues.

It said customers are increasingly adopting unlimited data and Canada-U.S. plans which provide higher and more stable ARPU on a monthly basis.

“In a tough operating environment and relative to peers, we view Q3 results that were in line to slightly better than forecast as the best of the bunch,” said RBC analyst Drew McReynolds in a note.

Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi added that “the telecom industry in Canada remains very challenging for all players, however, Telus has been able to face these pressures” and still deliver growth.

The Big 3 telecom providers — which also include Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. — have frequently stressed that the market has grown more competitive in recent years, especially after the closing of Quebecor Inc.’s purchase of Freedom Mobile in April 2023.

Hailed as a fourth national carrier, Quebecor has invested in enhancements to Freedom’s network while offering more affordable plans as part of a set of commitments it was mandated by Ottawa to agree to.

The cost of telephone services in September was down eight per cent compared with a year earlier, according to Statistics Canada’s most recent inflation report last month.

“I think competition has been and continues to be, I’d say, quite intense in Canada, and we’ve obviously had to just manage our business the way we see fit,” said French.

Asked how long that environment could last, he said that’s out of Telus’ hands.

“What I can control, though, is how we go to market and how we lead with our products,” he said.

“I think the conditions within the market will have to adjust accordingly over time. We’ve continued to focus on digitization, continued to bring our cost structure down to compete, irrespective of the price and the current market conditions.”

Still, Canada’s telecom regulator continues to warn providers about customers facing more charges on their cellphone and internet bills.

On Tuesday, CRTC vice-president of consumer, analytics and strategy Scott Hutton called on providers to ensure they clearly inform their customers of charges such as early cancellation fees.

That followed statements from the regulator in recent weeks cautioning against rising international roaming fees and “surprise” price increases being found on their bills.

Hutton said the CRTC plans to launch public consultations in the coming weeks that will focus “on ensuring that information is clear and consistent, making it easier to compare offers and switch services or providers.”

“The CRTC is concerned with recent trends, which suggest that Canadians may not be benefiting from the full protections of our codes,” he said.

“We will continue to monitor developments and will take further action if our codes are not being followed.”

French said any initiative to boost transparency is a step in the right direction.

“I can’t say we are perfect across the board, but what I can say is we are absolutely taking it under consideration and trying to be the best at communicating with our customers,” he said.

“I think everyone looking in the mirror would say there’s room for improvement.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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TC Energy cuts cost estimate for Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico

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CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.

It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.

The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP)

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BCE reports Q3 loss on asset impairment charge, cuts revenue guidance

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BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.

The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.

“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”

Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.

BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.

The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.

BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.

It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.

The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”

Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE)

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