Concerns raised over Ontario’s dwindling supply of ICU beds

The spotlight is again on Ontario Intensive Care Units as the third wave of COVID-19 picks up steam.

Over 400 ICU beds were occupied with COVID-19 patients as of the end of last week. Ontario has approximately 2,300 total ICU beds but approximately 1,400 are occupied with non-COVID patients, leaving about 900 beds left.

With 40 per cent of non-COVID ICU beds now full, and with a reproductive rate around 1.2, meaning brisk exponential growth, some are again growing concerned with a lack of beds and a lack of trained nurses to staff them.

“It can go bad pretty quick,” a member of Ontario’s health table told 680 NEWS.

On Friday, Anthony Dale, the president of the Ontario Hospital Association, said the third wave is threatening the province’s intensive-care capacity.

Ontario Green Party leader Mike Schreiner released a statement Monday saying:

“We are on track to surpass the highest level of ICU admissions this week, one year after the pandemic first started. This is a clear indication that Doug Ford’s pandemic response is not working.”