Sudbury ER physician details challenges of delivering care during COVID-19 pandemic
When asked to describe caring for patients in the emergency room during the pandemic in one word, Sudbury ER Dr. Rob Lepage got emotional and simply said “challenging.”
Lepage has been an emergency room physician for more than three decades. He said staff at Health Sciences North had to learn as they went along, since there was no playbook on how to provide care in an emergency room during a pandemic.
And 18 months into the battle with COVID-19, Lepage said staff are dealing with what he calls collateral damage of the pandemic.
That includes elderly people who have been deteriorating at home because of cancelled procedures and mental health and addictions patients forced into long wait times at the ER.
“Sudbury, per capita, has … the most opioid deaths and as well the most visits to an emergency department related to opioid problems," Lepage said.
"So all of this really has meant that our numbers of patients every day has really increased. A month ago we saw 260; yesterday, we saw 235 patients on top of that. It’s a well known fact that HSN was built too small and so we’re overcrowded with inpatients and it’s very challenging for people to get seen quickly.”
He said more in-patient beds would alleviate some of the strain, but nurse Sheryl Strojny said there also needs to be more hands on deck.
“When you’re with us, you know we’re trying really hard -- it's just a matter of, you know, decreased staff and resources," said Strojny.
"We just need to work together to get through it and we’re trying there’s just nothing else for us to do at the moment to try and make this any better so we’re just doing what we can with what we have.”
While the emergency department is busy, both Lepage and Strojny said in an emergency, residents shouldn’t hesitate to come to the hospital. But once there, try to exercise a little patience and understanding.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
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 which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in U.S. if legal options fail, Reuters sources say
TikTok owner ByteDance would prefer to shut down its loss-making app rather than sell it if the Chinese company exhausts all legal options to fight legislation to ban the platform from app stores in the U.S., four sources said.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.