The egress of COVID-19 patients from Toronto began in mid-November 2020, when the Ontario government activated the GTA Hospital Incident Management System. Transfers peaked in April during the third wave of COVID-19.
Ontario even put out a national call for health-care workers to help out, and Newfoundland answered.
Why would Ontario need to transfer masses of critically ill patients with a highly infectious disease across the province, even resorting to involuntary transfers? Why would a metropolis like Toronto call on comparatively tiny Newfoundland for health-care workers? Is this simply the unavoidable consequences of a huge third wave of COVID-19?
In fact the root causes began long before the pandemic and originated with a flawed understanding of the capacity (physical and human) of our health-care system.
About two years ago, Suzanne noticed that her daughter was getting thinner and thinner. The Ottawa resident suspected that her daughter, then 14, had developed bulimia. By December 2019, she was struggling to get out of bed and looked gravely ill. Her parents were worried about her heart: purging a symptom of bulimia that can involve self-induced vomiting, laxative misuse, and other behaviours can cause imbalances of the electrolytes that help maintain a regular heart rhythm.
In January 2020, Suzanne’s daughter agreed to go on a wait-list for an eating-disorder clinic at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. About two months later, as COVID-19 began upending the world, their family doctor instructed her to go to the emergency room immediately. She was admitted to the hospital’s inpatient eating-disorder program later that day.
This critical care paramedic worked a week of 12-hour shifts to help keep Ontario s ICUs from overflowing
In order to make room in crowded hospitals in the Greater Toronto Area, critical care paramedics with Ornge are transferring COVID patients to facilities in Kingston, London, St. Catharines, Barrie, Peterborough, Ottawa, Thunder Bay and Sudbury.
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Posted: May 07, 2021 11:51 AM ET | Last Updated: May 7
The pandemic s third wave has hard-hit ICUs in Ontario sending patients to hospitals that are less busy. Ornge provides patient transportation by air and by land in vehicles staffed by critical care paramedics like Joanne Skinner, of Timmins, Ont. (Brian Goldman/CBC)
Author of the article: Steph Crosier
Publishing date: May 06, 2021 • 10 hours ago • 2 minute read
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A local child and youth psychiatrist is facing charges of sexual assault and sexual exploitation for crimes Alberta RCMP claim occurred in the early 1990s.
The RCMP charged Dr. Nasreen Roberts with the two criminal offences at the end of February 2020, Const. Chantelle Kelly said. Her first appearance was a few days later on March 4, 2020. The RCMP allege the crimes were committed in or around the area of Banff, Alta., between Sept. 1, 1993, and Aug. 1, 1994.
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Belleville police have reopened Cannifton Road North after closing it early Friday for an investigation.
Someone reported at 1:34 a.m. a man had been injured seriously, Sgt. Brad Lentini wrote in a news release. Paramedics took the man to Belleville General Hospital and then to Kingston Health Sciences Centre for further treatment.
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Officers closed the street between McColl and Latchford Streets but reopened it at 9 a.m.
The Belleville police emergency response team and detectives are involved in the investigation but police were not releasing any further information as of 9 a.m.