'Alberta is at the edge of a precipice': Kenney, Copping invited to tour ICUs
Dave Dormer
CTVNewsCalgary.ca Digital Producer
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Updated Oct. 5, 2021
CALGARY -
The head of emergency medicine for the Alberta Medical Association is inviting Premier Jason Kenney and Health Minister Jason Copping to tour an Edmonton-area ICU to "break the disconnect" between political policy and reality.
"We’ve been told, through the endless months of this relentless pandemic, to keep our distance to stay safe. From the outside, where life feels almost normal, it is understandable to want to keep your distance from the unfathomable horrors we face in the hospitals everyday," Dr. Paul Parks wrote in a letter sent to Kenney and Copping on Monday.
"Maintaining distance is necessary to get through this pandemic, but when policy leaders maintain distance from the hospitals where policy is implemented, an adaptive mechanism becomes harmful. To break the disconnect, we urgently need you to see what we are experiencing. We would like to formally invite you to come visit an Edmonton area ICU as soon as possible to see it for yourselves."
The letter was also sent to Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw and Alberta Health Services CEO Dr. Verna Yiu, as well as the medical director and clinical department head for the Edmonton zone and the chief of staff to the minister of health.
"Health care workers are doing all they can with every fibre of their being, but human capacity is not an infinitely renewable resource," it read.
"We feel we should warn you that health care workers are adept at creating an appearance of order and control in the face of 'chaos.' Critical care teams are trained to manage even the most life-threatening situations in a calm and controlled manner.
In a statement, Alberta Health spokesperson Steve Buick said Copping and Kenney "are very familiar with the situation in the hospitals and deeply grateful to the physicians, nurses, and other staff working in ICU and other areas."
"Minister Copping receives updates directly from AHS CEO Dr. Verna Yiu on a daily basis and sometimes more often. Dr. Yiu has shared with the minister in detail the pressure on the ICUs and the challenges of expanding capacity described in Dr. Parks’ letter," it read.
"The minister and premier are both willing to visit a hospital to show their appreciation, but this is not an appropriate time given the strict limits on visitors due to the current high level of transmission of COVID-19, as well as the pressure on the hospitals, especially the ICUs.
"We’ll work with AHS to arrange an appropriate time for a visit when it would not risk being perceived as a risk to vulnerable patients or a distraction to the staff."
On Tuesday, the province announced 663 new COVID-19 cases, along with 26 deaths, increasing the province’s death toll to 2,778 since March of 2020.
Alberta has 19,456 active cases and 1,094 patients in hospital, including 252 in intensive care.
Out of eligible Albertans, 84.5 per cent have one dose and 75.1 per cent have two.
Since the end of August, AHS has also had to delay or postpone roughly 8,500 surgeries across the province, including 805 pediatric surgeries due to the fourth wave of COVID-19. During that same time period, AHS completed 9,100 surgeries, including 3,500 emergency surgeries, and 1,100 cancer surgeries.
Dave Dormer
CTVNewsCalgary.ca Digital Producer
Follow | Contact
Updated Oct. 5, 2021
CALGARY -
The head of emergency medicine for the Alberta Medical Association is inviting Premier Jason Kenney and Health Minister Jason Copping to tour an Edmonton-area ICU to "break the disconnect" between political policy and reality.
"We’ve been told, through the endless months of this relentless pandemic, to keep our distance to stay safe. From the outside, where life feels almost normal, it is understandable to want to keep your distance from the unfathomable horrors we face in the hospitals everyday," Dr. Paul Parks wrote in a letter sent to Kenney and Copping on Monday.
"Maintaining distance is necessary to get through this pandemic, but when policy leaders maintain distance from the hospitals where policy is implemented, an adaptive mechanism becomes harmful. To break the disconnect, we urgently need you to see what we are experiencing. We would like to formally invite you to come visit an Edmonton area ICU as soon as possible to see it for yourselves."
The letter was also sent to Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw and Alberta Health Services CEO Dr. Verna Yiu, as well as the medical director and clinical department head for the Edmonton zone and the chief of staff to the minister of health.
"Health care workers are doing all they can with every fibre of their being, but human capacity is not an infinitely renewable resource," it read.
"We feel we should warn you that health care workers are adept at creating an appearance of order and control in the face of 'chaos.' Critical care teams are trained to manage even the most life-threatening situations in a calm and controlled manner.
Premier Jason Kenney, left, and Health Minister Jason Copping have been invited to tour an Edmonton-area ICU by the head of the Alberta Medical Association. (File photos)
"You won’t see people running around in a panic, but please ask every single person working in a hospital what they are facing. Have them walk you through what is normal, and what is extraordinary. We suggest starting with the main ICU to get a sense of the layout of a normal unit, before moving on to the rest of the hospital where 'overflow ICUs' have been set up. You’ll quickly see that the ICUs around Edmonton have had to expand into spaces that are increasingly more challenging to care for critically ill patients."
The letter adds Kenney and Copping need to "see, to hear, to understand what is happening in our hospitals right now."
"The distance between numbers on a page and the reality inside these walls is impossible to bridge unless you can see for yourselves what we have been trying to communicate to your government and the public," it read.
"Alberta is at the edge of a precipice, but it is a precipice that right now only we can see. Please let us show it to you."
Asked about the letter during Tuesday's update on COVID-19, Kenney said he had not seen the letter and that he would find it inappropriate for people to visit a hospital setting outside of a need for health care.
Copping said he had seen the letter and was working to set up a virtual meeting with Parks.
"You won’t see people running around in a panic, but please ask every single person working in a hospital what they are facing. Have them walk you through what is normal, and what is extraordinary. We suggest starting with the main ICU to get a sense of the layout of a normal unit, before moving on to the rest of the hospital where 'overflow ICUs' have been set up. You’ll quickly see that the ICUs around Edmonton have had to expand into spaces that are increasingly more challenging to care for critically ill patients."
The letter adds Kenney and Copping need to "see, to hear, to understand what is happening in our hospitals right now."
"The distance between numbers on a page and the reality inside these walls is impossible to bridge unless you can see for yourselves what we have been trying to communicate to your government and the public," it read.
"Alberta is at the edge of a precipice, but it is a precipice that right now only we can see. Please let us show it to you."
Asked about the letter during Tuesday's update on COVID-19, Kenney said he had not seen the letter and that he would find it inappropriate for people to visit a hospital setting outside of a need for health care.
Copping said he had seen the letter and was working to set up a virtual meeting with Parks.
In a statement, Alberta Health spokesperson Steve Buick said Copping and Kenney "are very familiar with the situation in the hospitals and deeply grateful to the physicians, nurses, and other staff working in ICU and other areas."
"Minister Copping receives updates directly from AHS CEO Dr. Verna Yiu on a daily basis and sometimes more often. Dr. Yiu has shared with the minister in detail the pressure on the ICUs and the challenges of expanding capacity described in Dr. Parks’ letter," it read.
"The minister and premier are both willing to visit a hospital to show their appreciation, but this is not an appropriate time given the strict limits on visitors due to the current high level of transmission of COVID-19, as well as the pressure on the hospitals, especially the ICUs.
"We’ll work with AHS to arrange an appropriate time for a visit when it would not risk being perceived as a risk to vulnerable patients or a distraction to the staff."
On Tuesday, the province announced 663 new COVID-19 cases, along with 26 deaths, increasing the province’s death toll to 2,778 since March of 2020.
Alberta has 19,456 active cases and 1,094 patients in hospital, including 252 in intensive care.
Out of eligible Albertans, 84.5 per cent have one dose and 75.1 per cent have two.
Since the end of August, AHS has also had to delay or postpone roughly 8,500 surgeries across the province, including 805 pediatric surgeries due to the fourth wave of COVID-19. During that same time period, AHS completed 9,100 surgeries, including 3,500 emergency surgeries, and 1,100 cancer surgeries.
(ANNews) - About three months after Premier Jason Kenney exclaimed that Alberta was “open for summer," COVID case counts in the province have been on an upward trajectory.
While Ontario cautiously kept many of its public health measures in place, Alberta’s government ended all COVID restrictions, including a province-wide mask mandate, on July 1.
Now Alberta has the highest rate of infections in Canada, with the most recent seven-day-average as of Oct. 1 at 1,635 cases. As of Sept. 30, Ontario — with about triple the population of Alberta — had a seven-day-average of 597 cases.
On Sept. 29, Alberta hit its highest number of ICU admissions throughout the pandemic with 264 patients, with the Canadian Red Cross and Canadian Armed Forces coming to assist overburdened hospital staff. Ontario hasn’t logged more than 169 ICU admissions since Sept. 3.
The only province with a greater percentage of its population dying of COVID over the past two weeks is Saskatchewan.
University of Alberta infectious diseases professor Dr. Ilan Schwartz says Alberta’s government has “completely abdicated its responsibility” to keep the public safe from COVID.
"Alberta was reckless in dropping all restrictions and declaring the pandemic over. Jason Kenney infamously declared that we were in the post-pandemic era, that COVID was no longer a risk and basically threw caution to the wind — that was a grave misstep," he told the CBC.
"But what made things much, much worse is the inability to respond to the data that demonstrated a rising number of cases."
At this point, Alberta’s healthcare system has “completely collapsed,” Schwartz added.
"It's not just that we're on the verge of collapse, I think that's misleading at this point — we've completely collapsed,” he said.
Schwartz says overcrowded ICU units have created a “completely dysfunctional healthcare system.”
"People might think that they're vaccinated, and so they don't need to worry about this. But the fact is that if we can't provide safe ICU care, period, then everybody is at risk,” said Schwartz.
"Every time people get on a tractor, or get in a car, and go on the highway — there's always been risk associated with that — but now there's no safety net."
Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News
COVID-19: Alberta NDP calls for cancelled surgery numbers to be included in daily updates; ICU cases see slight drop
Author of the article: Hamdi Issawi
Publishing date: Oct 04, 2021
On Monday, the provincial government reported 1,079 Albertans in hospital, which amounts to 13 more patients since Friday, but six fewer patients in the province’s intensive care units, where 257 Albertans are fighting the disease.
Alberta’s Health Services has seen more than 1,000 new daily COVID-19 cases for weeks, and has had to scramble and reassign staff to handle the surge of intensive care patients.
Premier Jason Kenney announced last week that his government was finalizing the deal for outside support from the military.
Capt. Bonnie Wilken, public affairs officer for the Canadian Armed forces, said the military has a senior nursing officer on the ground in Edmonton who is working with the provincial health authority to integrate her team.
“The critical care nursing officers are conducting their integration and expected to start getting scheduled for shifts midweek,” Wilken wrote in an email statement to Postmedia.
Since Friday, the province identified 4,037 new cases of COVID-19, including 1,629 cases on Friday, 1,282 on Saturday, and 1,126 on Sunday — a downward trend since the province implemented new public health measures a little more than two weeks ago.
The government also reported 21 deaths since Friday, which raises the provincial death toll to 2,752.
Meanwhile, the NDP is calling for the number of surgeries that have been cancelled due to the pandemic to be included as part of Alberta’s daily COVID-19 data.
The province has been forced to cancel surgeries it considers non-urgent to make room for the influx of COVID-19 patients.
Fort Saskatchewan’s Jennifer Wood’s 16-month-old daughter Robin has a condition that causes her to burn significantly more calories than most children, and doctors have told her parents that she needs a surgically-inserted feeding tube. She also needs surgeries on her eyes and hips.
The feeding-tube surgery, originally scheduled for mid-September, was cancelled and has not been rescheduled, Jennifer said at an NDP press conference Monday.
Robin currently uses a feeding tube that has to be inserted everyday but her mom says that is only meant for short-term use.
“This is so difficult for us. Our sweet baby girl is going to continue to struggle to gain weight and develop. She’s going to continue to have to work harder to see and her hips will remain unstable,” she said.
“This will delay her motor development,” Jennifer added. “The truth is we have no idea how long Robin will struggle to do the things the rest of us take for granted.”
NDP Leader Rachel Notley said making cancelled surgery numbers public would help encourage people to be vaccinated, by showing them the impact of COVID-19 cases in Alberta’s hospitals.
“I do honestly believe that there’s a lot of folks out there who are not vaccinated who are still persuadable,” she said.
“And so it’s about trying to put a face and a story to the idea that their decision not to get vaccinated doesn’t just mean that they may or may not dodge a bullet and be one of the people in the hospital getting treatment for COVID,” Notley said. “It means that people like Robin, babies like Robin, can’t get something like a feeding tube.”
Notley added the government should also release a detailed and properly-resourced “roadmap” for how the province is going to make up the surgical backlog.
“When the worst of the danger has passed, Alberta will still face a huge challenge in delivering all of these cancelled procedures to Albertans, reassessing so many patients and rescheduling surgeries,” Notley said.
“It will all be a very difficult task. It will require new resources, and it will require the UCP to work collaboratively with health-care professionals.”
— With files from the Canadian Press
Author of the article: Hamdi Issawi
Publishing date: Oct 04, 2021
Alberta Health Services staff in Calgary work on patients in a crowded intensive care unit.
PHOTO BY SUPPLIED /Alberta Health Services
Alberta is reporting a slight drop in the number of critically ill COVID-19 patients as Canadian military nursing staff expect to start working in the province’s hospitals mid-week.
Alberta is reporting a slight drop in the number of critically ill COVID-19 patients as Canadian military nursing staff expect to start working in the province’s hospitals mid-week.
On Monday, the provincial government reported 1,079 Albertans in hospital, which amounts to 13 more patients since Friday, but six fewer patients in the province’s intensive care units, where 257 Albertans are fighting the disease.
Alberta’s Health Services has seen more than 1,000 new daily COVID-19 cases for weeks, and has had to scramble and reassign staff to handle the surge of intensive care patients.
Premier Jason Kenney announced last week that his government was finalizing the deal for outside support from the military.
Capt. Bonnie Wilken, public affairs officer for the Canadian Armed forces, said the military has a senior nursing officer on the ground in Edmonton who is working with the provincial health authority to integrate her team.
“The critical care nursing officers are conducting their integration and expected to start getting scheduled for shifts midweek,” Wilken wrote in an email statement to Postmedia.
Since Friday, the province identified 4,037 new cases of COVID-19, including 1,629 cases on Friday, 1,282 on Saturday, and 1,126 on Sunday — a downward trend since the province implemented new public health measures a little more than two weeks ago.
The government also reported 21 deaths since Friday, which raises the provincial death toll to 2,752.
Meanwhile, the NDP is calling for the number of surgeries that have been cancelled due to the pandemic to be included as part of Alberta’s daily COVID-19 data.
The province has been forced to cancel surgeries it considers non-urgent to make room for the influx of COVID-19 patients.
Fort Saskatchewan’s Jennifer Wood’s 16-month-old daughter Robin has a condition that causes her to burn significantly more calories than most children, and doctors have told her parents that she needs a surgically-inserted feeding tube. She also needs surgeries on her eyes and hips.
The feeding-tube surgery, originally scheduled for mid-September, was cancelled and has not been rescheduled, Jennifer said at an NDP press conference Monday.
Robin currently uses a feeding tube that has to be inserted everyday but her mom says that is only meant for short-term use.
“This is so difficult for us. Our sweet baby girl is going to continue to struggle to gain weight and develop. She’s going to continue to have to work harder to see and her hips will remain unstable,” she said.
“This will delay her motor development,” Jennifer added. “The truth is we have no idea how long Robin will struggle to do the things the rest of us take for granted.”
NDP Leader Rachel Notley said making cancelled surgery numbers public would help encourage people to be vaccinated, by showing them the impact of COVID-19 cases in Alberta’s hospitals.
“I do honestly believe that there’s a lot of folks out there who are not vaccinated who are still persuadable,” she said.
“And so it’s about trying to put a face and a story to the idea that their decision not to get vaccinated doesn’t just mean that they may or may not dodge a bullet and be one of the people in the hospital getting treatment for COVID,” Notley said. “It means that people like Robin, babies like Robin, can’t get something like a feeding tube.”
Notley added the government should also release a detailed and properly-resourced “roadmap” for how the province is going to make up the surgical backlog.
“When the worst of the danger has passed, Alberta will still face a huge challenge in delivering all of these cancelled procedures to Albertans, reassessing so many patients and rescheduling surgeries,” Notley said.
“It will all be a very difficult task. It will require new resources, and it will require the UCP to work collaboratively with health-care professionals.”
— With files from the Canadian Press
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