The Emergency Care Issue

The squeeze is on for Canada’s emergency departments

It is no secret that Canada’s emergency care system is under strain but, again and again, when folks I know urgently need the nation’s emergency departments, the staff there go above and beyond and the care is excellent.

A recent example underlined that. I sometimes joke that she’s my “work wife” but in reality my colleague has a husband, 70, normally in good health, who recently experienced extreme shortness of breath.?

There was no appointment with his FP available for nine days, my colleague said, so they went to Toronto General Hospital. Staff acted fast: He was put on a gurney and given supplemental oxygen, a bedside ECG and ultrasound. He was sent for a CT scan within four hours that revealed pulmonary embolism. Staff thoroughly investigated the clots and looked for cancer and heart damage—ultrasound on his legs, abdominal CT, thyroid imaging—but the evidence seems to be against cancer and he was released after 48 hours, with prescription medication. He received care from nurses coming to the house afterwards and has followups from his FP and the hospital’s thrombosis clinic. “It was fantastic care and we’re incredibly grateful for the entire team,” my colleague said. It’s great to see stellar care is still happening in our EDs.

Yet there are still the harrowing stories, so much so that the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP) recently declared that the “canary in the coal mine” has died. Released March 27, CAEP’s huge EM:POWER Task Force Report on the Future of Emergency Care calls for the establishment of emergency care clinical networks to coordinate clinical service and HR planning and other changes. As well, CAEP is having a forum on the future of emergency care on April 30 and May 1 in Toronto.?

It’s going to be a long road to effectively address the emergency care crisis but it is encouraging to see progress starting.

STORIES

We’re also looking for doctors’ stories about their medical practice for the magazine’s December issue—either short ones (200 to 300 words) or longer ones (up to 1,400 words). Send them to me at [email protected] with “Stories Issue” in the subject line.?