'People will suffer and will die': Emergency doctor says some health triage has begun in Alberta
The head of emergency medicine for the Alberta Medical Association, Dr. Paul Parks, says major components of triage have already begun in Alberta - an assertion disputed by the province.
The dispute arose Friday as the Canadian Armed Forces prepared to bring in air transport and staff to deal with a COVID-19 crisis overwhelming Alberta's hospitals.
The province has yet to formally invoke the triage policy, which would see doctors have to make on-the-spot decisions over who gets life-saving resources.
But Parks said it has become routine in hospitals in the last two weeks to have some critically ill patients - most of them unvaccinated COVID-19 cases - kept on main wards rather than in intensive care units on ventilators because they don't have the available intensive care ward staff.
That's on top of previously announced mass cancellations of surgeries, along with patient transfers, as doctors balance medical needs with available space, he said.
“We already are in positions in many hospitals across Alberta where the doctors know that it would be best for this patient to be in ICU and be on a ventilator, but we're not providing that option until they absolutely deteriorate to the point of crashing,” Parks said Friday.
“We already are implementing some of these things that are drastic, and we wish we never would have.
“People will suffer and will die by this.”
Alberta Health Services said in a statement: “We acknowledge that we are operating at a reduced standard of care, however, safety remains at the forefront of all decisions.
“Any patient who requires mechanical ventilation is currently able to receive it.”
Parks said it's not at the point where doctors must make on-the-spot, life-and-death decisions. But he said that's not far away and, when it comes, the second stage of triage will follow quickly, including making those same decisions about children.
Alberta Health Services said triage will only be invoked if all efforts to increase intensive care capacity are exhausted.
There are 368 intensive care spaces with 304 patients, most of whom are critically ill with COVID-19, and most of them unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.
Alberta normally has 173 intensive care spaces but has been converting other spaces, including operating rooms, into ad hoc critical care wards to meet COVID-19 demand.
Alberta has more than 20,000 active COVID-19 cases and is seeing well over 1,000 new cases a day.
Dr. Verna Yiu, head of Alberta Health Services, said Thursday a key reason intensive care wards have not been overwhelmed is because enough COVID-19 patients are dying to free up bed space.
The number of COVID-19 deaths has been on the rise.
There were 29 fatalities reported Tuesday, 20 more Wednesday and 17 Thursday. More than 2,600 people have died in Alberta since the pandemic began.
Premier Jason Kenney has asked other provinces and the federal government for emergency aid.
Andrew McKelvey, a spokesman with the Department of National Defence, said Friday that they have been asked to provide up to eight intensive care nurses, along with air transport for patients to other health facilities in Canada.
The air transport should be ready to go in 24 hours and the nurses within 72 hours, said McKelvey.
Parks and other physicians, meanwhile, are urging Kenney to put in a “firebreak” to reverse the slew of new infections, starting with shutting down schools and banning mass gatherings, such as sports events.
“The (political) decision-makers upstream are not doing what they need to do to stop case transmission,” said Dr. Shazma Mithani, an Edmonton emergency room physician.
“We can't keep going like this. Health care and ICU capacity is a finite resource.
“The only way to stop the influx of patients into the hospitals is to stop the cases, and that has to happen with restrictions - and it is not happening.”
Dr. Tehseen Ladha, an Edmonton pediatrician, said it makes no sense for Alberta to ask for federal help while refusing to impose serious health restrictions, particularly as cases among children rise.
“This is the worst it's ever been,” said Ladha. “We're seeing the rise in cases amongst the (age) five-to-11 group go up faster than any other age group. The curve is almost vertical.”
Dr. David Keegan, a Calgary family physician, said while critical cases grow, so does the collateral damage of thousands of delayed surgeries.
Keegan said one of his patients needs cancer surgery, but the operation has been delayed.
“It means by the time surgery happens you never know, (the cancer) may have spread,” he said.
“Suddenly we go from this person with an easily treatable removable cancer to it has spread and we're into added-on chemotherapy and potentially radiation.”
Dr. Ilan Schwartz, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Alberta, said targeted public health measures and a vaccine passport may have worked a month ago.
But he said only a hard lockdown with a shutdown of schools and on-essential businesses can now stop the crisis at its source - high caseloads.
“It's absurd that we have (hospital) wards that are full, we are cancelling cancer surgeries, we're calling for the military, we're talking about transporting patients 3,000 kilometres in order for them to find an ICU bed and we still have society going on as if nothing is the matter.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 24, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
BREAKING Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
On federal budget, Macklem says 'fiscal track has not changed significantly'
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canada's fiscal position has 'not changed significantly' following the release of the federal government's budget.