'Invisible patients': 15,000 surgeries postponed in Winnipeg alone in past 15 months
Shared Health’s chief nursing officer said the COVID-19 pandemic is continuing to have an impact on the number of surgeries that can be performed in Manitoba.
Speaking during a public health update on Wednesday, Lanette Siragusa spoke about the challenges the health-care system is facing in caring for non-COVID patients.
“We know that outside of ICU, thousands of non-COVID patients, invisible patients really, remain waiting for care,” she said. “Approximately 15,000 non-urgent and elective surgeries have been postponed in Winnipeg alone in the past 15 months.”
Siragusa said hospitals and ICUs in Manitoba continued to be stretched during the pandemic.
Last week, Manitoba airlifted two patients to Quebec and Ontario for elective cardiac surgeries.
As of midnight, 151 Manitobans were receiving intensive care, including 97 COVID-19 patients (67 in Manitoba, 27 in Ontario, two in Alberta, and one in Saskatchewan).
Siragusa said no ICU patients with COVID-19 have been transferred outside of Manitoba since June 4.
She added two Manitobans transported to Ontario with COVID-19 on May 25 have died. The individuals were a man in his 70s and a woman in her 60s.
Siragusa said the health-care system has been forced to adapt with each wave. She said 15 more nurses have started a two-week orientation to work in the ICU, joining 119 that have already completed the program. She added the province has also put in a virtual COVID program to monitor patients at home and increase hospital bed capacity.
“As of Monday, we have 43 patients who are enrolled in this program, 31 who are on home oxygen,” she said. “This program, since launching in December, has saved 1,337 hospital inpatient days.”
Siragusa said Manitobans need to follow the public health orders and get vaccinated to help ease the strain on hospitals.
“I know that everyone is very tired of the public health restrictions, but we just need to hang on for a little bit longer, so that the transmission rate can continue to fall, and the pressure on our hospitals can begin to ease,” she said.
“We need to do this for our health-care workers who have shown unwavering dedication to their profession and to their patients over the past 15 months.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Made-in-Newfoundland vodka claims top prize at worldwide competition
A Newfoundland-made vodka has been named one of the world’s best by judges at this year’s World Vodka Awards.