Cancelled flights have northern Ont. hospital risking ER closure
With doctor shortages causing emergency rooms around the country to shut down, a northern Ontario hospital is scrambling to prevent the same fate.
Travelling physicians needed by Notre-Dame Hospital in Hearst to keep its ER open face chronic flight cancellations out of Toronto's Pearson airport, according to recruitment coordinator Melanie Goulet.
"Already we are having a hard time finding physicians to work in our small community, and having flight cancellations just complicates everything," said Goulet.
She had to ask another travelling doctor to work an extra 24 hours during the recent long weekend, when his replacement's flight was cancelled the day of its departure.
"It was about five hospitals over the past weekend that had to close their ER, and we were almost one of them also," Goulet said.
"I can't even imagine the day that we'll have to do that."
Dr. Vivian Ma was supposed to fly from Montreal to Timmins on June 30, and drive three hours north to fill a vacant spot at the Hearst hospital's ER.
She said after her first flight arrived in Toronto, Air Canada notified her that a connecting flight was cancelled and would be rescheduled for July 2, the day after her shift was scheduled to start.
Ma said it's a frustrating situation that's been going on for weeks.
"For the last two months, every single one of my flights coming here has been delayed, the three times I've come here in June, and all my flights have been cancelled," said Ma.
She said the only options are to book a flight with Porter, drive more than nine hours to Hearst or wait for the rebooked flight with Air Canada.
Ma said Porter's same-day flight to Timmins was fully booked during this latest mishap, so she bought a ticket for the next day.
"I promised to provide services, and not being able to come here and do the work that I promised to, knowing that emergency patients will not be seen here, it affects me in that sense," she said.
"I just want to be able to come here and fulfil my duties."
Staff shortages at Toronto airport
Management at the Timmins’ Victor M. Power airport said cancellations and delays have been affecting hundreds of passengers flying in and out of the city.
Issues at Pearson International Airport due to staffing shortages and construction delays are causing Air Canada flights north to be cancelled.
Timmins airport manager Dave Dayment said the airline is cutting flights in hopes of offering stability.
"They've reduced us to two flights a day and even at that, the last five days, the afternoon flight that leaves at 6 o'clock has been cancelled the last five days," Dayment said.
Monday's flight board showed an inbound and outbound flight had already been cancelled.
"The next three days, they are scheduled to be on time, but we won't know that until the day of."
Dayment said the level of coordination needed to land planes at an airport and get in the sky is such that any lack of efficiency or staff can set back schedules or cancel flights.
Timmins' airport is limiting delays on its end, he said.
With Pearson struggling to manage the hundreds of flights coming in, flight disruptions are inevitable.
He suggested passengers frequently check their flight's status and activate text alerts to be notified about delays or cancellations quickly.
For Ma, there's little security that her next flight to northern Ontario will operate on schedule, and she's trying to make contingency plans.
"I'm just pre-emptively buying a second ticket on the same day, in case Air Canada cancels my flight," she said.
Goulet added that other doctors she's talked to are making similar plans, buying several plane tickets with different airlines to ensure they make it to the hospital.
That's all at their own extra cost, she said.
'It might mean I can't come here anymore'
"There is so much planning I can do and coming this often, it's not always feasible to have five plans," said Ma.
"If, however, things fall through on my next travel here, then it might mean I can't come here anymore."
That's the worst fear for both Ma and Goulet, especially with the summer being one of the worst seasons for physician shortages.
Goulet said Notre-Dame Hospital is looking for a long-term solution.
"We're even thinking of approaching local people in our community that have planes, to see if they can take their own personal plane to go pick up a doctor," she said.
The hospital is even considering paying Ornge Air Ambulance to fly doctors into town, Goulet said.
The hospital intends to contact government officials and Air Canada to try and find a solution.
CTV reached out to Transport Canada for comment, which said it is working with federal agencies to address travel disruptions affecting the whole country.
"While progress has been made, some challenges remain, particularly for travellers facing flight cancellations and issues with baggage services," Transport Canada's senior communications adviser Sau Sau Liu said in an email.
"Work continues with air industry partners to further reduce the delays in the air travel system and Transport Canada will continue to update Canadians on the progress."
As for a small northern town that needs doctors to arrive at its hospital on time to provide care to the community, Goulet said Hearst can't handle this situation much longer.
"We need to have a doctor in our emergency room."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NDP motion regarding Palestinian statehood passes after major Liberal alterations
A motion from the federal New Democrats initially calling on Canada to recognize the 'State of Palestine' passed amid widespread acrimony on Monday, after the Liberals drastically altered its wording to see the government simply work towards that aim as part of a two-state solution.
'He didn't want to die': Family of Calgary man killed in standoff speaks out
Family of a Calgary man killed after a 30-hour standoff with police last week are speaking out, sharing details of the tense and heart-wrenching experience.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
Ohio mom who left toddler alone 10 days when she went on vacation pleads guilty to aggravated murder
An Ohio mother whose 16-month-old daughter died after being left home alone in a playpen for 10 days last summer while she went on vacation was sentenced Monday to life in prison with no chance of parole.
Retired teacher pleads guilty to paying for sex with 15-year-old in Collingwood, Ont.
In a Barrie courtroom on Monday, a retired high school teacher from the Niagara Region pleaded guilty to sexual touching and obtaining sexual services from a 15-year-old boy in Collingwood in 2021.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
5 charged in Calgary kidnappings that targeted women
Calgary police have charged five men in a pair of kidnappings last year that targeted innocent victims.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Canadian commander of volunteer fighter group dies in Ukraine
A Canadian-born commander of the so-called Norman Brigade, a volunteer fighting group in Ukraine, has died.