health officials across Canada Hospital emergency departments and urgent care clinics have cut hours in recent weeks, a move that could in some cases extend into the summer due to shortages of patients and staff.
Doctors say the condition is linked to a resurgence of viral infections such as COVID-19 A push to get care delayed by the pandemic, among adults and children and by others, was exacerbated by the high number of sick or burned healthcare workers.
The stress has caused hospital hallways to be closed and clinic waiting rooms full, children’s hospitals with long hours of waiting to care for patients, and occupancy rates of over 100%. It has rekindled the debate about systemic problems in the government-funded healthcare system.
On Thursday, Perth and Smiths Falls District Hospital in eastern Ontario announced that its emergency department in Perth will be closed from Saturday through Thursday because of the COVID-19 outbreak affecting its staff.
“It’s like the four horsemen of the apocalypse descend on us in health care all at once,” said Alan Drummond, a family and emergency doctor based in the city, which is home to about 6,000 people.
Drummond, who spoke with Reuters before the closure was announced, observed that patients had to wait 20 hours to be admitted, a condition that could lead to a deterioration in their condition or even medical errors. can give He blames the situation for years of inadequate funding of hospital beds and community care.
While hospitals in smaller towns and cities in Canada sometimes reduce their hours, it is rare for regional health centers to do so.
Ontario’s health ministry would not say how many hospitals in Canada’s most populous province are affected by partial or temporary closures, but they said measures have been taken to address the issue, including nurses and other health workers. Including retaining personnel.
“Sometimes hospitals have to make the difficult decision to temporarily close their emergency departments so that operations can continue throughout the hospital,” a ministry spokesman said.
Hospitals in Quebec, the country’s second largest province, New Brunswick and Manitoba, also have partially closed departments or temporarily cut hours from a few weeks to several months, according to hospital statements.
Read more: What is the cause of long COVID? Canadian researchers think they’ve found an important clue
In Kingston, Ontario, Hotel Dieu Hospital’s Urgent Care Clinic reduced its hours over the Canada Day long weekend. A spokesperson for the Kingston Health Science Center described the move, which began on Friday, as a planned one-time reduction, but it was expected that “staff shortages and the current surge in patient volumes will continue throughout the summer.” I will continue.”
Children have been hit hard by the lack of health care as many young people not previously exposed to the virus succumbed to the disease during the spring as many people used drugs to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Face mask left.
Eastern Ontario’s Children’s Hospital in the nation’s capital, Ottawa, ran between 110% and 120% capacity for weeks in May and early June. A spokesperson said the occupancy was at a record high in the month of May.
Less staffing and an increasing load of patients is “like that perfect storm,” said pediatrician Catherine Smart, president of the Canadian Medical Association.
funding debate
According to the OECD, Canada has the fourth-lowest number of per capita funded acute care beds among countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the Commonwealth Fund ranks Canada’s health system second among 11 affluent countries.
Some blame the underfunding for the health system of the 1990s, when Canada’s federal government cut spending to get the country’s deficit under control.
Others, such as the right-leaning Fraser Institute, say the government-funded system is the root cause of the problems, suggesting a move to a privately paid model.
Canada may have very little time to waste.
Rami Rahal, vice president of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, said there is a risk that cancer disease and deaths in the country could worsen due to long periods in which screening is skipped or delayed and treatment postponed.
“We can’t get our way out of this crisis,” he said. “We have to find new ways to deliver care.”
(Reporting by Anna Mehler Pepperney; Editing by Paul Simao)