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Health

    • Emergency room delays to continue for 'quite some time,' doctor warns

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    An emergency room physician is urging governments to address the country’s shortfall of health-care workers in light of the recent temporary shutdowns of emergency departments and the staffing downsizing at others.

    The Canada Day long weekend saw two Ontario hospitals shut emergency room doors owing to a staff shortage, while other hospitals across the country struggled with “bed block,” where there were more patients than beds to send them to.

    Dr. Lisa Salamon says that a backlog of surgeries, along with increased demand from patients after two years of avoiding hospitals, are overwhelming hospitals. For example, at Toronto’s Michael Garron Hospital, more than 300 people a day are seeking medical help, an increase of 40 to 50 per cent from pre-pandemic times.

    “I'm seeing such astronomical volumes come through our emergency departments … 10 to 20 per cent more than you know, even at peak flu season, never mind in the summer in June and July, where we usually have lower volumes,” Salamon told CTV’s Your Morning on Wednesday.

    “It's higher than we've ever seen before.”

    New Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5 might cause a fresh wave of infections in the upcoming months, potentially increasing the number of hospitalizations, especially among unvaccinated individuals and those with limited immunity, epidemiologists have warned.

    Salamon says that without immediate government support, patients can expect to continue to see emergency room closures and long wait times for ‘quite some time.’

    “There are proposals for … independent ambulatory centres to help with the backlog of surgical procedures, but that's going to take some time and the government needs to act right away,” she said.

    “We have a new government-elected health minister (in Ontario), and they really need to partner with our organizations in order to solve this problem. You know, pretty quickly.”

    But as bad as the wait times currently are, Salamon says they are a symptom of a deeper problem that is system-wide across the country.

    “A lot of people don't have family doctors and that's a huge problem,” she said.

    The Canadian Medical Association and say that the cracks in Canada’s primary care system stemming from a lack of family doctors is leading to more patients seeking care at emergency rooms.

    “I think really probably the No. 1 priority that government needs to focus on is really trying to fix the family doctor shortage. And also make sure that every Ontarian has a team along with their family doctor to take care of their health.”

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