Emergency department physicians worried about COVID-19 impacts

Frontline workers in Canada are sounding the alarm over the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic will have on emergency rooms.

Dr. Brett Belchetz, an emergency room physician who worked during the SARS crisis, says though Canada is better equipped to deal with infectious diseases, there are still concerns over how Covid-19 will strain the system.

“Even at the best of times, we don’t have everything that we need,” he said. “This is a strained system, we’re short in space, we’re short of nurses, we’re short in supplies. Something like this [COVID-19] just makes it worse.”

Belchetz says there are concerns over the shortage of supplies, including the fact that there aren’t enough ventilators in Canada, should more people require hospitalization.

Some hospitals have also been dealing with a shortage in testing swabs, and are therefore being more restrictive with who they’re testing, reserving these swabs for critically ill patients. 

“Many of us are very very worried about resources in the system, very worried about the systems’ ability to keep up with this if it gets much worse than it is right now,” Belchetz said. “The thing to do is go home and self-isolate yourself, a test isn’t going to make a difference to care.”

In a press conference this morning, the province responded to questions about the shortage of supplies in hospitals, including ventilators, protective gear, and testing swabs. Ontario’s Minister of Health, Christine Elliot, wouldn’t go too much into the specifics, but said the federal government has committed to coordinating the overall supply.

“Everyone is thinking about supplies not knowing how long this will last, making sure we need the necessary the necessary testing swabs we need,” Minister Elliot said.

Some hospitals have also been seeing large volumes of patients, many of them are people suffering from influenza and who are concerned that they require testing for COVID-19.

Belchetz says at his hospitals, these patients are oftentimes waiting over six hours just to be told they don’t need to be tested.

Advice to Canadians is to try and avoid hospitals if possible, instead first consider using online platforms launched by the province, contacting public health and telehealth to determine whether hospitalization is necessary.

On Tuesday, Belchetz will be launching a free virtual clinic that will allow people to screen their COVID symptoms, which he says will be covered by OHIP.  Maple will allow Canadians with OHIP to speak with a doctor through an audio or video chat, about the symptoms they are feeling.

“They can speak to a doctor online from the comfort of their home, to have their symptoms assessed to figure out where or not they need to go to the hospital or whether or not they need testing,” Belchetz said. “It’s a much safer alternative than going and sitting in a waiting room or emergency room, and much less of a strain on the health system.”

The platform’s users can be connected to one of the 55 doctors any time of day, as the platform will operate twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

Belchetz expects to have more doctors joining the initiative, hoping other provinces will follow in Ontario’s footsteps and provide coverage for their residents.