'A crisis in terms of human resources:' Dr. Jennifer Russell on health-care system strain
Doctors in New Brunswick say they don’t know what to expect next, as 571 medical professionals isolate due to COVID-19.
"I can't tell you what tomorrow is going to look like, I can't tell you what next week is going to look like, I can tell you that it's going to be a rough couple of weeks going forward and we need people to be patient with us because I don't have a crystal ball or an exact solution,” said Dr. Mark MacMillan, president of the N.B. Medical Society.
One general practitioner in the province is calling for a lockdown.
"I really do think we should have a lockdown at this point similar to what Ontario’s done, where we close all non essential businesses at least for a circuit breaker period of time just to allow some mitigation of this virus,” said Dr. Roxanne MacKnight.
New Brunswick's Chief Medical Officer of Health says they only expect cases to increase as Omicron spreads.
"It's predictable at this point that as cases rise the hospitalizations will rise and so we're tracking hospitalizations right now,” said Dr. Jennifer Russell.
“Clearly when you hear the number of people that have been isolating and have been impacted by COVID-19 in the hospital system particularly in the Saint John region we're undertaking with our RHAs and the work they've been doing very diligently over the past several days to manage this is becoming a crisis in terms of human resources,” Dr. Russell said.
Of those isolating, 460 are from the Horizon Health Network, 70 are from the Vitalité Health Network staff and 41 are from Extra-Mural/Ambulance New Brunswick.
“We're really trying to be as nimble and flexible as possible to try to address the issues in the hospital system with respect to the services that they need to continue to be able to offer,” added Dr. Russell.
Dr. MacMillan says many physicians and healthcare professionals were just starting to catch up on their long wait lists but he expects that to change again soon.
"We are now suffering the consequences, we are reducing surgeries, we are reducing procedures, we are cancelling appointments, we are cancelling bloodwork appointments, radiology appointments, all these sort of very important procedures and imaging tests, and tests which they call elective but it doesn't mean they're not important,” said Dr. MacMillan.
Both Dr. MacMillan and Dr. MacKnight say the only way to end this crisis is to get vaccinated and boosted.
"It's frustrating for us because we're feeling because we feel like we want to do what we can to help our patients and we're constantly trying to explain the situation," added Dr. MacKnight.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
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 that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.