'Still a lot to know': Alberta healthcare workers bracing for rush of COVID-19 patients

Dr. Joe Vipond in an interview with CTV News Edmonton on Jan. 7, 2022.

Amid a 50 per cent increase in Alberta hospitalizations due to COVID-19, concern was mounting Friday about how the highly transmissible Omicron variant will impact the healthcare system.

Hospitalizations from the virus and resulting disease rose from 263 on Christmas Day to 428 on Jan. 4, according to provincial data. ICU admissions increased from 57 to 71 during that time.

"If you want to have a peek into our future, just look at what’s going on in Quebec where they have 20,000 workers currently off because of Omicron," emergency room Dr. Joe Vipond said.

It's still too early to tell what impact the latest wave will have on Alberta hospitals, Vipond said, but he doesn’t believe the province’s plan to cut isolation requirements for health care workers who test positive will help.

"If that worker goes back early, and infects two or three more people, or more, you’re not winning then," he explained.

There were outbreaks at 15 hospitals and acute care facilities across Alberta Friday.

The Official Opposition is concerned that those numbers will grow, and hammer an already exhausted workforce.

"What folks are seeing in their job sites is increasing staffing shortages that will likely continue as we see the further spread of the Omicron-driven fifth wave," NDP MLA David Shepherd said in an interview.

He pointed out that three Alberta emergency rooms were closed due to doctor shortages over the weekend.

"With a more infectious variant that will require more people to isolate or take time off work, we could be in a dire position with our hospitals and accessibility of care," he worried.

'WE’RE WATCHING OMICRON CLOSELY'

Alberta Health Services officials said they were planning for increased absences, but so far, they hadn't seen a rise in staff shortages due to COVID-19.

The president of the Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) claimed that didn't add up with what he was hearing from workers

"What I see is (AHS) whitewashing, and saying 'don’t worry there’s nothing to look at here, we're going to be just fine.' And I don't think that's true," Mike Parker said.

"We’re watching Omicron closely and I’ll continue making recommendations based on the most prudent course of action. The resilience of our healthcare system and healthcare providers is on the line," Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw tweeted earlier in the week.

Alberta approved new public health measures on Dec. 24, but had not increased them since.

The NDP and HSAA were calling on the province to release more information about employee absences and hospitalization modelling, so workers can better prepare for what's to come.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Chelan Skulski