Delays to process Pap test results are being felt across much of the country. The COVID-19 pandemic played a role in creating a backlog of all kinds of screening tests — but industry insiders say the problem is made worse by ongoing long-term staffing issues in the Canadian lab sector. …
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Why Ontario parents will have to pay to use a virtual pediatric clinic starting next month
Parents and health-care experts are speaking out after learning a round-the clock online pediatric service that's helped keep sick children out of overflowing Ontario hospitals will no longer be free starting Dec. 1. Province cutting its fees for virtual care on Dec. 1 Parents and health-care experts are speaking out …
Read More »B.C. Children’s Hospital activates emergency overflow amid respiratory illness surge
B.C. Children's Hospital has activated emergency triage to manage a mounting volume of patients with respiratory illness, including flu and COVID-19, B.C.'s health minister has confirmed. Health minister says emergency operations centres set up months ago have been activated B.C. Children's Hospital has activated emergency triage to manage a mounting …
Read More »Why mask mandates may be harder to justify in solving the crisis in children’s hospitals
Masks have been essential throughout the pandemic, but while everyone is encouraged to wear them to protect themselves in certain situations during respiratory illness season, mandating them now is harder to justify for a wide range of reasons. No province or territory has opted to make the use of masks …
Read More »Why mask mandates likely wouldn’t solve the crisis in children’s hospitals
Masks have been essential throughout the pandemic, but while everyone is encouraged to wear them to protect themselves in certain situations during respiratory illness season, mandating them now is harder to justify for a wide range of reasons. No province or territory has opted to make the use of masks …
Read More »An inside look at the ER of Canada’s largest pediatric hospital as RSV surges
CBC News got exclusive access to the emergency department and ICU at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, Canada's largest pediatric medical centre, as it and other hospitals across the country grapple with what one doctor called "a perfect storm" of COVID-19, flu and RSV. Stress takes toll on families and …
Read More »Canada’s health-care system has a data problem, experts say. And it puts patients at risk
A review of Greg Price's death found missed faxes, follow-ups and botched data-sharing ultimately cost the 31-year-old his life. A decade later, medical front-line staff in Canada say problems persist when it comes to sharing everything from patient information to aggregate medical and staffing data. 'It's not good to be …
Read More »Amid calls to mandate masks in schools again, provincial health officials demur
A triple threat of COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza is pushing pediatric hospitals over capacity and being blamed for a wave of absences in schools. It's prompted calls for mandatory masking in schools again. With respiratory illnesses spreading, there’s been an uptick in children getting sick Schools reconsider …
Read More »Foreign supply of kids’ pain and fever meds secured, Health Canada says amid shortage
Health Canada says a foreign supply of a children's fever and pain reducing medication has now been secured. Supplies will be available for sale at pharmacies in the coming weeks Health Canada says a foreign supply of a children's medication for reducing fever and pain has now been secured. "We …
Read More »Canada’s top doctor encourages wearing masks as hospitals struggle with virus surges
Dr. Theresa Tam and her counterparts across the country recommend layering the protection of wearing a mask in crowded places, particularly if they are poorly ventilated. Up to provincial authorities to decide about mask mandates, Tam says Canada's top public health doctor says wearing masks in addition to other precautions …
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