Hospitals on their deathbed: Tales of Canadian healthcare collapse, February 2024
Still a shit show. Coming to a healthcare system near you.
Welcome to a second special bonus edition of the Covid-Is-Not-Over newsletter. This issue continues the thread begun a month ago, a thread about healthcare collapse in Canada.
As before, I’m looking at the country where I live, Canada. The time frame this time follows on from the January 2024 focus last time and presents the situation in February 2024. My focus is how the Covid-19 driven surge in hospitals, coupled with the normal winter respiratory illness season, has caused all the various provincial healthcare systems here in Canada to teeter on the brink of total collapse. With Covid peaking in early January, we’ve seen some easing of the crisis, at least in how the media is reporting the situation. The lull continued into February, again, at least in how the media is reporting.
What’s the cause? As I said last time:
Of course, the Covid pandemic is the main cause, what with the way it’s strained systems with both the acute effects driving hospital admissions as well as how Long Covid and other long term effects of Covid’s cardiovascular and cognitive (and other!) impact on our bodies.
Covid isn’t the only villain here. Long term austerity and rampant cost cutting in all the healthcare systems in Canada left those systems woefully unprepared for the effects of the Covid pandemic. Not to mention how many of the provincial governments in Canada have been stealthily (and not so stealthily) pushing a privatisation agenda for the systems. They’ve been deliberately starving healthcare funding to “make the case” that the system obviously needs new sources of funding. In other words, we should all have to pay out of pocket for private sector care.
This is the tip of the iceberg. There are no shortages of villains in this tale of collapse.
I haven’t decided if I am going to continue this as “bonus” issues on a monthly basis, or just as necessary. We’ll see. Noticeable symptoms of collapse might be something we mostly see in the winter months, at least for now.
As I said before, this as a cautionary tale. It’s happening here. Beware: the same forces that are pushing our system to the brink are coming for your system too, no matter where you are.
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I have a few articles highlighted here at the beginning about the situation in Canada and beyond. After that a very long list of all the media reporting I could find for February highlighting the dire situation in Canadian healthcare.
Unmitigated COVID is overwhelming hospital systems- globally. by Julia Doubleday / The Gauntlet
Yet in the many articles about HCW shortages and nursing shortages in particular, none of this is ever mentioned. Nor is it, strangely, by leftist organizers; in the UK, even activists who frequently comment on the NHS crisis seem allergic to the word COVID.
COVID is not a disease we can ignore out of existence; by now, that should be clear. We are sitting back and watching as the total capitulation to this virus worsens health outcomes both acutely and in the long-term. This anti-science COVID denial has led to high rates of hospital acquired infection and the death of patients. Continual reinfections are piling risk upon risk upon risk as previously healthy people ultimately develop heart, brain, lung, autoimmune, and other health problems. Increases in heart disease, strokes, and blood clots will continue to worsen as the public encounters its fourth, sixth, eighth reinfection.
What is the plan? 30 reinfections in 30 years?
The population-level damage of COVID reminds me of the population-level damage of climate change. Because the damage is so distributed, because it worsens gradually, and because it is so invisibilized by our media’s disjointed presentation, we continue to ignore what only our focused attention can remedy. Cities are facing record heat. Hospitals are facing record patient burdens. We must acknowledge and address these crises with a full accounting of how our individualism fuels them, and only collective action can address them.
'Our hospitals are on their death bed': Waterloo Region Health Coalition chair by Josh Goeree / CityNews
Following the Ontario Health Coalition’s new report released Wednesday, the chair of the Waterloo Region Health Coalition is calling for an open investigation into the funding practices of the Ontario government.
Jim Stewart, chair of the Waterloo Region Health Coalition, said private clinics are being funded at a “tremendous rate” while public hospitals are being chronically underfunded.
“[Private clinics] are feasting on public dollars and our public hospitals are being starved,” said Stewart.
The report, titled Robbing the public to build the private: The Ford government’s hospital privatization scheme found that private clinics received a 212 per cent increase in funding in one year, rising from $38,693,100 in 2022-23 to $120,693,100 in 2023-24. At the same time public hospitals only received an increase of 0.5 per cent to their operating budgets this year.
Privatization of Canadian healthcare is touted as innovation—it isn’t. by Catherine MacNeil / Canada Heathwatch
Privatization is not innovation. It is regression. Prior to the inception of Medicare in Canada, our healthcare system was basically a privatized model. Services were paid out-of-pocket or through private insurance plans. In 1929, approximately 60% of Canadians were not earning enough money to afford adequate healthcare. Privatization is what Canadians transitioned away from many decades ago. …
Having a universal, single-payer healthcare system does not mean Canada is averse to innovation. Canadians invented the Ebola vaccine, pacemakers, insulin, and the first child-resistant medication containers. Canadians discovered the first cystic fibrosis genes, the first clonal method to identify stem cells, and in 1984 Canadian scientist Dr. Tak Wah Mak discovered T-cell receptors, a major step in cancer immunology. Many of these groundbreaking innovations were funded by public dollars and occurred in public facilities. All of these breakthroughs went on to change the lives of patients around the world.
The erosion of Canadian healthcare has followed the prototypical privatization playbook. The first step in privatizing any public entity is to defund it and allow it to be mismanaged, throwing it into chaos. As the system struggles, the public is persistently bombarded with horror stories that repeatedly demonstrate how the system is no longer able to function. Public outcry ensues. Privatization is then presented as the remedy. If the system is allowed to fall hard and long enough, public support for privatization will increase. Opening the door to more privatization will further erode Medicare. As the system disintegrates, this clears a path for various monied interests to step in and pick up the pieces. Privatization accelerates.
Why patients are waiting so long in emergency rooms across Canada by Ali Amad / Macleans
As Canada’s emergency rooms grapple with persistent staffing and bed shortages, hospital admission wait times are getting longer. This past December in Ontario, patients waited in ERs for an average of nearly 22 hours before getting admitted to the hospital—almost three times longer than the provincial target time of eight hours.
According to Michael Howlett, president of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, or CAEP, decades of underfunding fuelled systemic problems, which are now hitting a breaking point. Ontario wait times will likely only get worse, he says, particularly during respiratory virus seasons.
Howlett—who works as an emergency physician in Durham region, just east of Toronto—is concerned that these extended wait times are causing preventable deaths: in November, a patient died in a Winnipeg ER hallway after waiting for a bed for 33 hours. The following month, two patients died over two days while waiting for treatment in a Quebec ER that was operating at nearly 200 per cent capacity for weeks. This is the worst year Howlett has seen in his three-decade career as an emergency physician. Here, he explains how we ended up in such a dire situation and what needs to change to save patients’ lives.
You started off as an emergency physician in Nova Scotia bac
Privatization schemes advanced by governments amid deepening health care crisis across Canada by / - World Socialist Web Site
The crush of patients combined with underfunding has contributed to a surge in burnout among healthcare workers and the closure of emergency rooms due to staff shortages. According to the Ontario Health Coalition emergency rooms and emergency centres in Ontario closed 1,199 times in 2023 due to a lack of staff.
The growing crisis in Canada’s health care system has been used by all provincial governments to justify further privatization. The funneling of an ever greater share of public funds into private coffers has been justified with the lie that this will reduce wait times for basic care and medical procedures.
In fact, as health experts have warned and various studies have demonstrated, the profusion of private for-profit health care clinics has only served to draw personnel and government funding away from the public system, exacerbating staff shortages and lengthening waitlists for urgently needed, even lifesaving, procedures.
As most have probably noticed, there is no paid subscription option for this newsletter. However, Substack does have an option where subscribers can pledge to subscribe “just in case” and a few kind subscribers have made that pledge. I very much appreciated the vote of confidence in what I’m doing here. What I’ve decided to do on a trial basis is to set up a “tip jar” on the Ko-fi platform. I’m not anticipating a huge surge of income from using Ko-fi but whatever revenue I do end up with, I plan to spend on supporting artists on Bandcamp. Sadly, who knows how long that will seem like a good idea.
Tales of Healthcare Collapse, February 2024 (Roughly Chronological)
P.E.I. doctor prescribes more accountability to address ER overcrowding | SaltWire (PEI)
Ontario to add 400 new primary care providers to deal with staffing shortage (Ontario)
'You are always rushing': A Toronto doctor offers a glimpse of emergency room chaos (Ontario)
Byrne and Teneycke, Harper's best soldiers, are on both sides of the Manulife/Loblaws' deal (Ontario)
Hundreds gather to question P.E.I. health minister on ICU closure (PEI)
Durham hospital emergency department reopening Sunday morning | Owen Sound Sun Times (Ontario)
Opinion: Diluting health care in Alberta with pharmacy clinics (Alberta)
Many hospitals focusing on emergency care only on Monday | 101.5 The Hawk (NS)
ER closures adding stress throughout health care system - StAlbertGazette.com (Alberta)
Healthcare system navigating a "perfect storm" | Brantford Expositor (Ontario)
Quebec's wait lists for orthopedic surgery have doubled in four years | Montreal Gazette (Quebec)
Ford government expands primary care teams in effort to fix doctor shortage (Ontario)
Healthcare workers rally over staffing levels, quality of patient care (Ontario)
Saskatoon nurses flag unsafe work process, claim E.R. conditions are unsafe | Globalnews.ca (Sask)
Enough Canadian politeness: We need blunt talk on health care | TVO Today (Ontario)
'We're not looking for placebo policy': Health fix will take time, minister says (Canada)
Expanding hospitals is a good thing — but hospitals need staff | TVO Today (Ontario)
Seaforth hospital's emergency department closed overnight - StratfordToday.ca (Ontario)
Due to staffing challenges the Emergency Department (ED) at our Seaforth Community Hospital will be closing today (Feb 9) at 9 p.m. The ED will reopen tomorrow (Feb 10) at 7 a.m. & regular hours of operation (24/7) will resume. / Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance (@hpha_news) / X (Ontario)
Pandemic funding cuts mean fewer emergency doctors at Queensway Carleton Hospital (Ontario)
Western Hospital emergency department closed Saturday | CBC News (Ontario)
'Do you need more money?' Ford promises action on emergency department waits - Sudbury News (Ontario)
N.S. health minister says work underway to address emergency room closures | SaltWire (NS)
https://canadahealthwatch.ca/2024/02/10/in-defense-of-canadas-universal-healthcare (Canada)
'Isn't right': Wasaga woman on MRI wait list dying of cancer - Barrie News (Ontario)
Here's how long patients wait to see a doctor in Ottawa hospital emergency departments (Ontario)
Rural BC Hospitals Face Temporary ER Closures Amid Ongoing Staffing Crisis (BC)
Details needed on government plan to address ER closures: Merritt mayor | CFJC Today Kamloops (BC)
Lakeshore General Hospital reports highest ER death rate in Montreal (Quebec)
42 operating rooms to be closed at Stollery over February due to 'staff and physician vacations' (Alberta)
Emergency department at Western Hospital in Alberton closing early Tuesday | CBC News (PEI)
First-ever official ER closure at Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake - Clearwater Times (BC)
Hospital, care home systems failed paralyzed Winnipeg senior in final days, family says | CBC News (Manitoba)
Which emergency rooms in Montreal have the highest death rate? (Quebec)
Pay-to-play healthcare on the rise under Doug Ford (Ontario)
Merritt mayor demands action from Interior Health and Province over ER closures (BC)
Durham ED losing overnight hours, beginning March 10 (Ontario)
Quebec's Emergency Rooms in Crisis: A Call for Prioritizing Urgent Care (Quebec)
Why patients are waiting so long in emergency rooms across Canada - Macleans.ca (Canada)
UPDATE: Doctor coverage found at Beaverlodge emergency room from Feb. 14 to 15 (Alberta)
Privatization of Canadian healthcare is touted as innovation—it isn’t. (Canada)
Why these doctors support Doug Ford's plan for private surgical clinics | CBC News (Ontario)
Saskatchewan nurses alarmed over 'dangerous' crowding in hospitals (Sask)
Stanton Hospital planning for staff cuts, fewer beds as COVID-era funding ends | CBC News (Yukon)
The political risks of going like hell on health care | CBC News (NS)
How Canadian hospitals grew dependent on expensive out-of-town nurses - The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Opinion: The demise of public health in Alberta? | Edmonton Journal (Alberta)
Hospitals in Ottawa region 'underwater financially' in 2023 now looking warily to future (Ontario)
Ste. Anne Hospital Emergency Department closed for two weeks - SteinbachOnline.com (Quebec)
Why Can't Rural Ontario Get the Health Services It Deserves? | TVO Today (Ontario)
ER workers say they’re ‘overwhelmed’ and ‘distressed’ – The Signal (NS)
Shoppers Drug Mart accused of unethical billing practices (Canada)
Doctor shortage closes Oliver hospital’s emergency room - Lake Country Calendar (BC)
Analysis: How Quebec's ER waits compare with those in England. Hint: terribly. | Montreal Gazette (Quebec)
Rural B.C. seniors have poorer access to healthcare, housing according to new report | Globalnews.ca (BC)
More doctors alone can't fix B.C.'s health-care system: report | CBC News (BC)
Despite More Doctors, a Million British Columbians Lack Family Healthcare (BC)
'Angst' in Durham as hospital ER hours indefinitely cut (Ontario)
ER disruptions at William J. Cadzow - Lac La Biche Healthcare Centre again - Lakeland Connect (Alberta)
We had to hire travel nurses or shut down ERs and hospitals, Furey says | CBC.ca (NFLD)
'Our hospitals are on their death bed': Waterloo Region Health Coalition chair (Ontario)
Can Quebec lure more nurses back into the public system after going private? | CTV News (Quebec)
Alberta healthcare workers raising concerns around hiring freeze | CityNews Edmonton (Alberta)
Ambulance offload times explode at Cape Breton Regional Hospital | SaltWire (NS)
'Completely preventable': Lack of family doctor blamed in death of 23-year-old Nanaimo woman (BC)
Staff shortages lead to more bed closures at MUHC | CityNews Montreal (Quebec)
Dartmouth warns of longer waits in ED - NH Business Review (NS)
Wait times for an ambulance in Quebec 'unacceptable,' says health minister | CTV News (Quebec)
Alberta intends to opt out of national pharmacare plan | Globalnews.ca (Alberta)
Canada’s public health system is not equal for all – The Varsity (Canada)
A rallying cry for family medicine – and other health-care professionals - Healthy Debate (Ontario)
Bill 60: another nail in the coffin for public healthcare in Ontario (Ontario)
Nova Scotia spending millions to attract and settle global healthcare and construction workers (NS)
Sudbury mom shares concerns after daughter's health card invalid at ER (Ontario)
Massive new survey finds widespread frustration with access to primary health care | CBC News (Canada)
A father's fall takes us inside a broken health-care system (Ontario)
Dismantling AHS: Alberta's acute care solutions are complex, require investment (Alberta)
Canadian Cancer Society urges Ontario to cover cost of take-home medication (Ontario)
Can we afford to keep ignoring the health of unpaid caregivers? - Healthy Debate (Canada)
It’s about the money (Ontario)
NDP sounds alarm on rural healthcare personnel losses - DiscoverHumboldt.com (Alberta)
Wolseley, Saskatchewan Hospital Reopens ER After Four Years: Limited Services Resume (Sask)
Fraser Health offers $500 bonuses for doctors to cover 'urgent' hospital shifts (BC)
Privatized hospitals typically deliver worse care, study finds | CBC.ca (Canada)
Are these private-pay health care clinics legal? The minister of health won't say - North Bay News (Ontario)
Fort St. John Hospital may experience high patient volumes through upcoming weekend (BC)
Council opposes closure of Sault public health lab (Ontario)
‘Not a fair system’: A family doctor on the crisis in primary care | TVO Today (Ontario)
Kingston-area board of health opposes closure of local lab (Ontario)
Will pharmacare become an empty dream for Justin Trudeau's government? (Canada)
Why are Alberta, Quebec planning to opt out of national pharmacare? | Watch News Videos Online (Canada)
ORs being used for storage as province funds private clinics: health group (Ontario)