Healthcare

BC EHS paramedics, dispatchers, and call-takers expertly handle more than 1,400 medical emergency calls a day – that’s about half a million calls annually according to BC Emergency Health Services. Photo Credit: Josh Berson

Patient care first: Why B.C. firefighters are calling for more medical training

Firefighters want more responsibility partly because they outnumber paramedics

BC EHS paramedics, dispatchers, and call-takers expertly handle more than 1,400 medical emergency calls a day – that’s about half a million calls annually according to BC Emergency Health Services. Photo Credit: Josh Berson
Employees work at the Canadian Hospital Specialities (CHS) helping take dual COVID-19 testing swab kits and separating them into two units to help with swab capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic in Oakville, Ont., on Monday, June 8, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

B.C. study finds 25% of people think health-care workers shouldn’t be out in public

One-third said they didn’t want to be anywhere near a health-care worker

Employees work at the Canadian Hospital Specialities (CHS) helping take dual COVID-19 testing swab kits and separating them into two units to help with swab capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic in Oakville, Ont., on Monday, June 8, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
FILE – British Columbia Health Minister Adrian Dix speaks during an announcement about a new regional cancer centre, in Surrey, B.C., on Thursday, August 6, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. announces children’s complex care transition facility in Vancouver

Dix says centre will be the first facility in Canada providing a comprehensive range of supports

FILE – British Columbia Health Minister Adrian Dix speaks during an announcement about a new regional cancer centre, in Surrey, B.C., on Thursday, August 6, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
FILE - In this May 24, 2019, file photo a vendor bags psilocybin mushrooms at a pop-up cannabis market in Los Angeles. Despite pandemic conditions that made normal signature-gathering almost impossible, activists in the nation’s capital say they have enough signatures for a November ballot initiative that would decriminalize natural psychedelics such as mescaline and psilocybin mushrooms. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

Canada approves psilocybin for compassionate use in four patients

The four Canadians are believed to be the first known patients to legally use psilocybin

  • Aug 6, 2020
FILE - In this May 24, 2019, file photo a vendor bags psilocybin mushrooms at a pop-up cannabis market in Los Angeles. Despite pandemic conditions that made normal signature-gathering almost impossible, activists in the nation’s capital say they have enough signatures for a November ballot initiative that would decriminalize natural psychedelics such as mescaline and psilocybin mushrooms. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)
FILE – A health care worker is seen outside the Emergency dept. of the Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver Monday, March 30, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Healthcare racism probe must go to systemic roots, not just ‘bad apples’: Indigenous doctor

Doctor says that blood alcohol guessing game is not the only incident

  • Jun 23, 2020
FILE – A health care worker is seen outside the Emergency dept. of the Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver Monday, March 30, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Terry Teegee, B.C. regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations. (Tom Fletcher/Black Press)

B.C. First Nations leaders ‘disgusted’ by allegations of racist blood-alcohol guessing game

‘Enough is enough,’ says Regional Chief Terry Teegee

Terry Teegee, B.C. regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations. (Tom Fletcher/Black Press)
(File photo)

Online options can help when men avoid doctors: UBC researchers

Free health resource can help men even if they don’t go to the doctor

  • Jun 16, 2020
(File photo)
From left to right: Pilot Doug Noblet and Co-pilot Sarah, Passenger Ed Bradford and Angel Flights representative Bob Kitching. (Photo: Robert Wisla)

Angel Flight takes flight from Creston after being grounded by COVID-19

Angel Flight is a volunteer-run organization which gives people flights to doctors appointments

From left to right: Pilot Doug Noblet and Co-pilot Sarah, Passenger Ed Bradford and Angel Flights representative Bob Kitching. (Photo: Robert Wisla)
Michelle Hunter tested positive for COVID-19 three days before her due date. (Submitted)

Pregnant B.C. woman catches COVID-19 days before giving birth

Michelle Hunter said the ordeal was like a horror movie

Michelle Hunter tested positive for COVID-19 three days before her due date. (Submitted)
In this Aug. 7, 2018 photo, a doctor performs an ultrasound scan on a pregnant woman at a hospital in Chicago. Sexual health experts across Canada are concerned the COVID-19 pandemic may be causing women to neglect their reproductive care. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Teresa Crawford

Women shouldn’t risk putting off sexual health care during pandemic, experts say

Sexual health and screening for intimate partner violence is key now, according to experts

In this Aug. 7, 2018 photo, a doctor performs an ultrasound scan on a pregnant woman at a hospital in Chicago. Sexual health experts across Canada are concerned the COVID-19 pandemic may be causing women to neglect their reproductive care. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Teresa Crawford
In this Nov. 1, 2005 file photo, a doctor prepares a patient for eye surgery in Chicago. Doctors say they’re becoming increasingly concerned about how they’re going to handle the swelling backlog of elective surgeries once the immediate COVID-19 threat has ebbed.THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Charles Rex Arbogast

Canadian doctors fret over surgery backlog after immediate COVID-19 crisis

Some worry their elective procedures could become urgent by the time operating rooms are available

In this Nov. 1, 2005 file photo, a doctor prepares a patient for eye surgery in Chicago. Doctors say they’re becoming increasingly concerned about how they’re going to handle the swelling backlog of elective surgeries once the immediate COVID-19 threat has ebbed.THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Charles Rex Arbogast
A woman hits a cow bell with a drum stick as a part of the 7pm tribute to health-care workers outside the Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver, B.C. Wednesday, April 8, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Don’t use fireworks, bear bangers to celebrate health-care workers: RCMP

Squamish Mounties say they’ve received three complaints this past week for sounds similar to gun shots

A woman hits a cow bell with a drum stick as a part of the 7pm tribute to health-care workers outside the Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver, B.C. Wednesday, April 8, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
The Elk Valley Hospital is adapting to meet the needs of patients in the Elk Valley. File Photo

Healthcare in valley affected by pandemic

A review of pandemic related changes in clinics and hospitals throughout the valley

The Elk Valley Hospital is adapting to meet the needs of patients in the Elk Valley. File Photo
A woman hits a cow bell with a drum stick as a part of the 7pm tribute to health-care workers outside the Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver, B.C. Wednesday, April 8, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

B.C. custody case highlights uncharted territory for split parents amid COVID-19

She’s a nurse, he operates a demolition company and both just want to keep their young son safe

A woman hits a cow bell with a drum stick as a part of the 7pm tribute to health-care workers outside the Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver, B.C. Wednesday, April 8, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
The First Nations Health Authority is providing a new virtual primary health care service to First Nations people in B.C. (Pexels photo)

B.C. First Nations Health Authority launches virtual doctor program

Program to provide primary health care through COVID-19 pandemic

The First Nations Health Authority is providing a new virtual primary health care service to First Nations people in B.C. (Pexels photo)
B.C. nurses are asking for more stringent social distancing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. (Canadian Press Photo)

B.C. nurses call for mandatory shutdown of all non-essential workplaces

Open letter to provincial, federal governments says current measures are insufficient

B.C. nurses are asking for more stringent social distancing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. (Canadian Press Photo)
Linda Silas, president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, talks with reporters after a breakfast meeting with Canadian premiers in St. Andrews, N.B. on Friday, July 20, 2018. Canada’s first death from the novel coronavirus has highlighted the urgent and often-ignored need for better staffing at long-term care facilities where elderly residents are especially vulnerable to the lung disease, says the head of the Canadian Federation of Nurses’ Unions. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

Better protections needed for health-care workers during COVID-19: advocates

Aides in the care home where the first Canadian died due to COVID-19 have fallen sick

Linda Silas, president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, talks with reporters after a breakfast meeting with Canadian premiers in St. Andrews, N.B. on Friday, July 20, 2018. Canada’s first death from the novel coronavirus has highlighted the urgent and often-ignored need for better staffing at long-term care facilities where elderly residents are especially vulnerable to the lung disease, says the head of the Canadian Federation of Nurses’ Unions. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
A screen displays a patient’s vital signs during open heart surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore on Nov. 28, 2016. A new medical review of the existing research into women’s cardiovascular disease has uncovered what the authors call a “stunning” lack of information about how women are affected by the disease. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Patrick Semansky

Canadian study finds ‘stunning’ lack of research into women’s heart health

The review concludes that cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death among women in Canada

A screen displays a patient’s vital signs during open heart surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore on Nov. 28, 2016. A new medical review of the existing research into women’s cardiovascular disease has uncovered what the authors call a “stunning” lack of information about how women are affected by the disease. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Patrick Semansky
Dr. Brent Jim, from the tiny village of Witset, B.C., is the first Indigenous gynecologic oncologist in the country. (Contributed photo)

Wet’suwet’en man becomes only Indigenous gynecologic oncologist in Canada

Dr. Brent Jim is working toward improving cervical cancer screening rates for Indigenous women

Dr. Brent Jim, from the tiny village of Witset, B.C., is the first Indigenous gynecologic oncologist in the country. (Contributed photo)
Rates of avoidable complications after surgery, such as lung clots, are 90 per cent higher than the OECD average. (Black Press File Photo)

Canadian patients 90% more likely to face avoidable post-surgery complications: report

New numbers from the Canadian Institute for Health Information show dismal stats for patient safety

Rates of avoidable complications after surgery, such as lung clots, are 90 per cent higher than the OECD average. (Black Press File Photo)