With surging demand forcing emergency room closures across the country, front-line physicians say more immediate help is needed before things get worse. Physicians also want policymakers to do more to immediately increase resources not just to emergency departments, but to other areas of health care, such as long-term care and primary care, so people who don’t need to be in an ER can get medical help in a more appropriate venue.
Ontario's top doctor, Dr. Kieran Moore, confirmed the province is in the seventh wave but said the virus is “experiencing a slower trajectory” this time, with the peak expected to be reached in the next two weeks. Moore added that the waves of the pandemic “appear to be coming on an every 90-day basis now” and that his goal is to “prevent any impact of COVID on the healthcare system.”
Amid what many are calling a healthcare crisis, those on the front lines want Canadian premiers, who will gather for their first in-person meeting since 2019, to commit to working collaboratively with the federal government to find tangible solutions. Organizations and individuals are also asking them to develop a national strategy on health human resources.
It's no secret that healthcare workers are having an exceptionally hard time balancing their personal lives and work lives right now. Between long shifts and the resulting exhaustion, it seems they don't have any time left to do the other things that give life meaning. However, there is always a way to turn things around, so we recently invited Jen Zurbrigg to talk about 5 ways healthcare workers can improve their work-life balance.
A survey conducted by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) — which represents tens of thousands of the province’s healthcare workers — reveals that hospitals are becoming increasingly dangerous and the problems are being “largely ignored.” According to the poll. Ontario health workers are being met with an increase in violence, sexual assault, and racially-motivated attacks.
The recent temporary closures of two Ontario emergency rooms and consolidation of staff at another have renewed concerns over the province’s health-care worker shortage, with doctors and nurses calling on the government to tackle the problem. The Ontario Hospital Association said staff shortages and capacity issues are creating backlogs across the hospital system, with an increased number of patients waiting for home care and patients in acute care beds who don’t require those resources.
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