Faced with rising COVID-19 hospitalizations, Quebec doctor calls for health system improvements
With COVID-19 numbers once again on the rise in Quebec, some doctors fear a serious crunch could be right around the corner.
Dr. Paul Saba is the head of the Lachine Hospital physician's council. He says their emergency room is already stretched thin, with nighttime ambulance services cut and an overall lack of respiratory specialists on deck.
"We saw that with COVID, we saw how tight things really were," he said. "We only allowed so many lifeboats on the ship, and there were a lot more people who actually needed lifeboats than there were. We need to build more lifeboats."
He said major improvements in Quebec's health network must be made, including growing the family doctor workforce and expanding homecare access to prevent hospital overflow.
"When you have a lack of beds in the hospital, things will back up because they can't be admitted," he explained.
"So when they come in, they just kind of stack up."
The Lachine hospital needs three more respiratory staff members in order to re-open its ICU and get ambulance services back to normal.
The goal is to do so by the end of the fall.
Quebec's health ministry reported 1,313 COVID-19 hospitalizations Saturday, an increase of 19 from the previous day.
Health officials are warning the public to remain extra vigilant ahead of festival season and with new subvariants -- namely BA. 2.12.1, BA. 4 and BA. 5 -- on the rise.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Bob Cole, veteran CBC broadcaster and former voice of 'Hockey Night in Canada,' dead at 90
Bob Cole, legendary CBC broadcaster and former voice of Hockey Night in Canada, has died. He was 90.
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.