Health

Emergency room doctors in Lethbridge are warning that ongoing staffing shortages could make growing wait times even longer.An open letter signed by 16 physicians says the Chinook Regional Hospital has struggled to recruit emergency department physicians and wait times are ballooning as a result.This isn't the first time the public has been alerted about the issue. Last summer, Alberta Health Services issued a notice about the shortage and warned people to expect longer wait times at the southern Alberta facility."We feel a little bit like we're hanging on by the skin of our teeth some days," Dr. Sean Wilde, an ER doctor who signed the letter, said in an interview with CBC News."We just want people to be aware that this is a problem that has not yet been solved."According to Wilde, the ER n...

The late-stage cancer diagnosis of former U.S. president Joe Biden has some medical professionals wondering how the disease was able to go undetected when his health had been under intense scrutiny near the end of his presidency.In a statement on Sunday, Biden's office said the 82-year-old has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and that it's spread to the bone. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer, which is considered to be the most advanced.Prostate cancer cells are usually graded on a scale of 1 to 10 under the Gleason system.This grading system involves looking at cells under a microscope and measuring how abnormal they are and their likelihood of spread. The higher the grade, the more aggressive the cancer.According to Biden's office, he scored a 9, which would suggest that his cancer...

A Montreal family is looking for the Good Samaritan who saved octogenarian Sabato Borrelli's life after he collapsed and went into cardiac arrest while out on his daily walk, out of his home in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough.Doctors told the family a stranger performed CPR on Borrelli for about 20 minutes before paramedics arrived and took over. Sabato's daughter, Gloria Borelli, believes her father was likely near Jarry Park when the incident happened around 3 p.m. on May 15, but has been unable to confirm the exact location as of yet. Gloria says she wants to meet the person who gave her more time with her father."This gentleman, or woman or child — I don't know who saved my father," she said. "All they wanted was this person to have a chance and he was given that chance."Borrelli cel...

Members of the World Health Organization adopted an agreement on Tuesday intended to improve preparedness for future pandemics following the disjointed global response to COVID-19, but the absence of the U.S. cast doubt on the treaty's effectiveness.After three years of negotiations, the legally binding pact was adopted by the World Health Assembly in Geneva. WHO member countries welcomed its passing with applause.The pact was touted as a victory for members of the global health agency at a time when multilateral organizations like the WHO have been battered by sharp cuts in U.S. foreign funding."The agreement is a victory for public health, science and multilateral action. It will ensure we, collectively, can better protect the world from future pandemic threats," said WHO Director Genera...

The number of serious bedsores reportedly found in patients in Nova Scotia hospitals has risen, but the province says it is only because it is counting them differently.However, a patient safety advocate says that's no comfort because they shouldn't happen at all.The number of stage 3 and 4 bedsores reported by the Health Department in the most recent quarter tripled when compared to the average over the last two years."That is not particularly alarming to me based on the data that we have available to us, but certainly overall we are not where we would like to be as an organization and we recognize that we have improvement to do and are very, very committed to doing that work," said Rochelle Currie, Nova Scotia Health's senior director of quality improvement.The average was 21, but there ...

Canadians who need a hip or knee replacement could get the surgery more quickly — without adding to health-care budgets or opening more operating rooms — if central waitlists were created, the author of a new study says. The findings, published in Tuesday's issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, suggest it's significantly faster to add patients to a central list where they can see any surgeon in their area, compared to each surgeon having their own waitlists. Right now in Ontario, a primary care provider, such as your family doctor, refers you to a surgeon or physiotherapist to decide whether surgery is needed. If it is, you'll be put on one surgeon's waiting list, which could be long or short. Often, it's a long wait — in Canada, only two-thirds of patients receive their hip r...

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On The Island7:32Texas nurse wants to move to NanaimoBC is streamlining the process for US nurses to come work in BC. We hear from Rachael Smith-Taylor, who works as a registered nurse in Belton, Texas, but wants to move to Nanaimo.  A Texas-based nurse is hoping to relocate permanently to Canada after taking part in a festival that invited Americans to visit Nanaimo, B.C., amid turmoil between the neighbouring countries.Rachael Smith-Taylor attended the event last month and used it as an opportunity to scope out the possibility of starting a new life in Canada."I'm a wife in a same-sex marriage needing to get out of a red state," she said in an interview with CBC News.She and her wife, Lisa, also a nurse, live in Texas with their three children. Smith-Taylor says the re-election of Donald...

Drugmaker Regeneron Pharmaceuticals will buy genetic testing firm 23andMe Holding for $256 million USD through a bankruptcy auction, the companies said on Monday.Regeneron said it will comply with 23andMe's privacy policies and applicable laws with respect to the use of customer  data and that it is ready to detail its intended use of the data to a court-appointed overseer.The bankruptcy proceedings, filed in March, had drawn scrutiny from lawmakers who warned that millions of customers' genetic data could be sold to unscrupulous buyers.23andMe last month agreed to allow a court-appointed overseer for the company's handling of customers' genetic information and its security policies during the bankruptcy.The company has collected genetic data from 15 million customers who ordered its DNA t...

The province’s target for these appointments is three weeks or less, but according to Quebec’s public health institute, wait times vary. That's creating concern, given that with cancer, time is of the essence. Source link