The strain on Alberta's hospital system continues to increase, with the 911 Albertans hospitalized from the novel coronavirus Friday marking the all-time high
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Alberta’s fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic reached new heights Friday, as the province reported 2,020 new cases of the virus.
It’s the first time since May 10 in which Alberta has reported more than 2,000 daily cases. The infections came from about 17,300 tests, representing an 11.7 per cent positivity rate.
Doctors with the independent Protect Our Province group raised alarms about health-care capacity during a Friday afternoon news briefing as the strain on Alberta’s hospital system continues to increase.
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There are 911 Albertans hospitalized from the novel coronavirus Friday marking an all-time high, as well as 215 COVID-19 patients in Alberta ICUs, down from 222 the previous day.
Internal Alberta Health Services modelling indicates the province could run out of ICU capacity by Sept. 29. Dr. Neeja Bakshi said there are real concerns Alberta could activate its critical care triage framework, which would dictate who will receive treatment if not enough resources are available.
“I’d like to acknowledge how morally distressing and devastating it is to even bring up the idea of critical-care triage in daily discussion,” Bakshi, a doctor of internal medicine at Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton, said during the POP briefing.
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“We are doing everything humanly possible to avoid activating this protocol.”
Bakshi explained COVID-19 vaccination status is not part of the triage protocol, and there is no plan to add it to the equation. She said the protocol creates an objective process under which health-care workers would allocate resources if necessary. Doctors treat all those who present with illness, Bakshi said.
“No one benefits when a physician makes a snap moral judgment about a patient,” she said.
In total, Alberta ICUs are caring for 260 patients. The province continues to add surge beds in anticipation of a further swell in patients needing care. The province has 322 ICU beds now available, meaning capacity sits at 81 per cent — but without those added surge beds, ICUs would be at 150 per cent capacity.
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The ICU capacity crunch is driven by unvaccinated Albertans. Of the 215 COVID-19 patients currently in Alberta ICUs, only seven per cent are fully vaccinated.
Alberta is reaching out to other provinces for help in a bid to avoid activating its triage protocol. It is requesting skilled labour which can come work in Alberta ICUs, as well as ICU space to which patients may be transferred.
Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott said Friday her province will support Alberta and that officials are discussing what that help may look like. Both British Columbia and Saskatchewan said Thursday they did not have capacity to assist Alberta.
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Edmonton intensivist Dr. Brian Buchanan deals with the transport of critically ill patients in his work. He said transporting patients thousands of kilometres is a significant challenge, particularly those whose health may fluctuate dramatically in transit.
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“It’s certainly hard to transport people with these considerations, but there’s really no family that wants their loved ones separated from them geographically. It’s hard on families, it’s hard on patients, it’s hard on health-care workers to make these decisions,” Buchanan said during the POP briefing.
Long-distance requires both ground and air transportation and is labour-intensive, Buchanan said. Those resources are already strained, he said, and suggested military aid may be more feasible to assist with patient transport.
Alberta is creating ICU space in part by postponing surgeries. AHS CEO Dr. Verna Yiu said Thursday the province was cancelling all non-emergency surgeries to free up beds and staff for critical care.
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Eric Mulder joined the POP broadcast to share his experience with surgery postponements. The 31-year-old Sherwood Park man had surgery scheduled to treat his brain tumour, but he received a call that it was cancelled less than 24 hours prior. The next evening, he suffered a severe seizure that sent him to hospital.
“Unfortunately, due to the ongoing situation, it took me a number of hours before I could even get an emergency room bed,” Mulder said. He said receiving the phone call that his urgent surgery would be moved caused an immense amount of stress.
Elsewhere Friday, Alberta also reported the deaths of 18 more people from the virus, including one person in their 40s. Throughout the pandemic, 2,523 Albertans have died of COVID-19.
There are now 19,201 active cases of the coronavirus across Alberta. The Alberta Health Services North zone has 3,237 active cases, the highest per capita rate in the province.
Twitter: @jasonfherring
Alberta reports more than 2,000 COVID-19 cases as doctors discuss triage, patient transfers - Calgary Herald
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