With Quebec short 4,000 nurses, health minister pleads, yet again: get vaccinated
Quebec's health minister made yet another plea on Tuesday to a certain 15 per cent of Quebecers: get vaccinated.
Health Minister Christan Dubé said that the numbers of those hospitalized may seem small. But he'd like people to keep one thing in mind: Quebec is so low on nursing staff by now, it can't afford any more strain.
Seven more patients were admitted to hospital with COVID-19 in the last day, including three in intensive care. Most of those weren't fully vaccinated, as is the case with most of the hundreds of more mild new daily infections.
Dube said the province is coming out of a summer where it barely managed to avoid increasing surgery wait lists. Private clinics have stepped in to keep regular surgeries going through the fourth wave.
But he indicated Tuesday that Quebec is now at a critical juncture now. Quebec is short 4,000 nurses, there are regions of Quebec where the staff shortage is so low -- in Abitibi, for example -- that authorities there will have to close an emergency room in order to preserve other services.
All strains on the system are exacerbated by COVID-19, and unvaccinated patients are much more likely to need hospital care than the vaccinated.
The hospital network in Montreal and other regions can't afford, staffing-wise, to take care of these patients without forcing others to postpone urgent operations, Dubé said.
Watch the video above to see his comments.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Why these immigrants to Canada say they're thinking about leaving, or have already moved on
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
DEVELOPING Live updates from the Trump hush money trial: Stormy Daniels, bookkeeper testify
Adult film star Stormy Daniels is on the stand a second time Thursday as former U.S. president Donald Trump’s hush money case continues in Manhattan. Follow live updates here.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
Ontario man frustrated after $3,500 paving job leaves driveway in shambles
An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.
BREAKING Sheldon Keefe out as head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Sheldon Keefe. The team made the announcement Thursday after the Original Six franchise lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Boeing 737 catches fire and skids off the runway at a Senegal airport, injuring 10 people
A Boeing 737-300 plane carrying 85 people skidded off a runway at the airport in Dakar, Senegal's capital, injuring 10 people, according to the transport minister, an airline safety group and footage from a passenger that showed the aircraft on fire.
Breast cancer screening should start at age 40, Canadian Cancer Society says
The Canadian Cancer Society says all provinces and territories should lower the starting age for breast cancer screening to 40.
Man accused of killing two children at Quebec daycare to stand trial in April 2025
The man accused of murdering two children and injuring six others after a city bus crashed into a Montreal-area daycare is scheduled to stand trial over five weeks beginning in April 2025.