Time for military support in 'overwhelmed' hospitals: Alberta health-care union leaders
The leaders of four health-care unions and the Alberta Federation of Labour implored Premier Jason Kenney to submit a formal request for assistance from Ottawa as hospitals grapple with increasing numbers of COVID-19 patients.
The leaders of the health-care unions in the province, representing 100,000 people working in the system, sent a letter Saturday saying it was their assessment that hospitals were no longer on the verge of collapse but that they were “actually collapsing in front of our eyes.”
The presidents of the United Nurses of Alberta (UNA), the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE), the Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) and the Canadian Union of Provincial Employees (CUPE) all signed the letter.
“We are writing today as the presidents of Alberta’s largest health care unions and Alberta’s largest worker advocacy group to urge you in the strongest possible terms to call on the federal government to immediately deploy the military, the Red Cross and all available medical staffing resources from other provinces to assist our province’s overwhelmed hospitals,” the letter read.
As the fourth wave of COVID-19 surges across Alberta, the province has begun to implement extraordinary measures to make room for the daily average of 20 new patients being admitted into the province's ICUs.
Alberta Health Services (AHS) began sharing and training staff on its critical care triage protocol, outlining how life and death decisions should be made if the province’s health-care system is overwhelmed past its breaking point, this week.
Field hospitals have been prepared in Edmonton and Calgary and surge ICU beds in hospitals, AHS said.
Alberta has 310 ICU beds including 137 surge beds, AHS CEO Dr. Verna Yiu said on Thursday. Eighty-six per cent of those beds are occupied – largely by COVID-19 patients.
- Triage protocols made public by Alberta Health Services
- Alberta reports 2,020 new COVID-19 cases, 18 deaths
- 'We're tired of being tired': Nurses rally in support of healthcare workers
The letter was also sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Rachel Notley, the leader of the official opposition.
“There are no more nurses in our province who can be deployed. There are no more paramedics,” the health care union leaders said. “The tank is empty. The well is dry.
“So please, on behalf of our beleaguered members on the front-line of this crisis, and on behalf of all Albertans, we are officially asking you to request help from the federal government.”
Steve Buick, press secretary to the minister of health, told CTV News Edmonton in a statement that no requests for aid from Ottawa or the Red Cross have been made by the province yet.
"The military and Red Cross would have limited ability to provide clinical resources, so no requests have been made to them to date," Buick said. "If and when their assistance is needed, for example, to provide equipment or logistical support such as patient transport, we’ll support requests as appropriate."
- B.C. willing to help Alberta in COVID-19 battle, but needs hospital space: Horgan
- Ontario confirms the province will help Alberta with overwhelmed ICUs
- Manitoba premier providing pharmaceutical help to Alberta
With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Jay Rosove
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Maximum payout for LifeLabs class-action drops from $150 estimate to $7.86
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.