Northern Montreal reaches new stage of COVID-19 capacity; wave of surgery cancellations across province
One of Montreal's health regions has reportedly moved to the highest possible alert level in the province's health-care reorganization system, which means it's cancelling a maximum number of surgeries and other procedures.
The Nord-de-l'Ile health district, which covers Villeray, St-Michel, Ahuntsic and several other neighbourhoods, has cancelled half of its planned cardiac surgeries, among other measures, spokesperson Séléna Champagne told CTV News.
Champagne wasn't able to confirm on Monday afternoon which of the four alert levels the district had reached, with one being the least urgent and four being the most urgent.
However, another spokesperson from the same district told various media outlets the same day that it has reached Level Four, the highest possible level under the province's COVID-19 contingency plan for the Omicron wave.
It would be the first Montreal health district to reach this level. However, hospitals across the city are cancelling surgeries and making other dramatic reorganization to free up more beds and staff for COVID-19 patients, sometimes with tragic consequences.
Champagne said the Nord-de-l'Ile hospitals are still able to prioritize the most urgent cases.
"Elective surgeries (non-urgent surgery that can be postponed without endangering the patient) have been postponed," she wrote in a statement.
"However, all urgent and semi-urgent surgeries and oncology cases are being maintained. Day surgeries are being prioritized according to the severity of the situation."
This week, for example, the Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur-de-Montreal is slated to perform 25 surgeries per day of the most ugent ones.
"Note that our trauma center mission is being maintained despite the COVID-19 situation," she added.
Other inpatients continue to be treated at the region's three hospitals, she said, though "our care units are very busy."
Quebec updated its protocol for the current wave in a document released on Dec. 30, laying out the four stages of urgency and guiding hospitals on how to prioritize beds and which procedures to cancel.
'NON-URGENT' SURGERIES CAN BE A MISNOMER, WIDOW SAYS
This kind of domino effect is happening across the province at emergency rooms and operating rooms.
And while the only surgeries being postponed are non-emergency, according to health authorities, such decisions can still lead to tragic results.
John Dufresne was supposed to get heart surgery last June, but it kept being put off because of COVID-19.
His widow says that the 74-year-old ended up waiting too long.
"He was never called in until his condition deterioriated, and he ended up back in hospital at the end of September," she told CTV News.
The Dufresne family feels that had he been operated on earlier, when when he was in much better condition, he would have survived.
LANAUDIERE, LAURENTIANS AMONG MOST AFFECTED
In Montreal, most emergency rooms are currently over-capacity except for the two children's hospitals. Maisonneuve-Rosemont hospital and the Lakeshore are particularly hard-hit, outside of Montreal North.
Outside of Montreal, the regions struggling the most with hospital capacity right now is the Lanaudiere, which includes Le Gardeur and Joliette, and the Laurentians, where St-Eustache and St-Jerome hospitals are also way above capacity.
On the South Shore, only Charles-Lemoyne hospital remains within its capacity limit.
Patients who are currently slated for surgery say the uncertainty is difficult.
"Well I'm... stuck with anemia [and] I'm starting to wonder if it's getting more important, more urgent," said Nancy Martineau, who is scheduled for surgery this Thursday at Anna Laberge hospital.
"So of course the stress level will go up -- it's already been four months."
While capacity is generally measured in beds, what it really comes down to is staff available to fully care for those occupying the beds. What hospitals are lacking right now are doctors, nurses and other personnel.
Thousands of those staff members are off work with infections. However, experts say poor planning is really to blame.
"There are people that need to be held accountable," said Dr. Donald Vinh.
"Should this pandemic continue in the short term, medium or even long term, it cannot be the same advisors that have the government’s ear, becaue they have clearly failed."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.