Health

Federal parties have pitched different approaches to dealing with the toxic drug crisis in B.C. — particularly when it comes to overdose prevention and supervised consumption sites. While the Conservatives have pledged to severely restrict overdose prevention sites, and the Liberals say they're reviewing their effectiveness, the federal NDP and Greens have come out in support of harm reduction for drug users and services like these.B.C.'s health minister defends the province's network of sites aimed at preventing overdoses, while one harm reduction advocate worries the life-saving services are becoming a political football.In New Westminster on Sunday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre promised to close overdose prevention sites, which are regulated by the province and often run by non-...

Alberta is reporting a surge of new measles cases this week, sparking fresh calls for the provincial government to provide more detailed data and for the province's top doctor to appear publicly.But even as the pressure mounts, health minister Adriana LaGrange is not offering any clear sense about when the chief medical officer of health might speak directly to Albertans about the situation.The province confirmed nine new cases on Monday, seven additional cases on Tuesday, and another three on Wednesday, bringing the total confirmed during this year's outbreaks to 46.While outbreaks span all five health zones, the central zone is now the hot spot for transmission, with 22 cases confirmed so far.As of Tuesday, six Albertans had been hospitalized since the surge began, according to Alberta H...

Vancouver Coastal Health officials are urging residents, especially men who have sex with other men, to see if they are fully immunized against mpox amid a recent rise in cases.Mpox, a virus in the same family as smallpox, can cause painful rashes, fever, enlarged lymph nodes, and respiratory symptoms.Officials say the virus continues to spread primarily through person-to-person contact and is currently affecting gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men.The virus gained prominence in 2022, when it exploded and caused severe disease in communities around the world and was observed as being primarily transmitted through sexual contact.WATCH | Mpox cases spreading in Vancouver area: Mpox cases rising in Vancouver's gay and bisexual communities, health officials say B.C. health offici...

The Manitoba government says a program introducing advanced care paramedics at seven locations will improve medical care for emergencies throughout rural and northern Manitoba.Fourteen "clinical service leaders" trained in advanced care paramedicine have been strategically placed in Portage la Prairie, Flin Flon, Dauphin, Ashern, Neepawa, Swan River and Lac du Bonnet as part of the program, the government said in a release Wednesday.Advanced care paramedics' scope of practice is broader than other paramedics. They can perform advanced life support, respiratory and cardiac care procedures, and can give a wider range of medications.The province said the paramedics will respond to medical emergencies on rapid response vehicles but won't transport patients. It said their training will improve ...

What On Earth28:11It’s about bloody time we talked about periods and climateBillions of disposable menstrual products are used on a daily basis, and the environmental impact is significant. But experts and advocates say the key to solving the problem is more equitable access to period products of all kinds — both disposable and reusable.Although there are more climate-friendly options available these days, reusable options can be a hard sell for many people, they said, because of factors like cost and stigma."We can't talk about reusables without talking about equity and access. It will only be a solution for people who have access to the financial means to purchase it, and water and sanitation resources to manage it," said Dr. Carmen Logie, a professor at the University of Toronto's socia...

Dr. Sophia Halassy couldn't be happier. The 32-year old bilingual obstetrician-gynecologist is settling into a new job at the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre in Moncton, helping to tackle a years-long waiting list of patients. This is a homecoming for Halassy, her husband and their two young daughters. After more than a decade of medical school, residency and employment in the United States, she was eager to get her family back on Canadian soil.While Halassy had long harboured hopes of returning to her native New Brunswick, it was the swing to the political right in the U.S. that provided the final push, she said. The reversal of the landmark 1973 case Roe v. Wade, which established a constitutional right to abortion in the U.S., was a turning point for her."That was in 20...

Multiple pharmacists linked to a south Thunder Bay, Ont., pharmacy face an additional set of misconduct allegations by the profession's provincial regulator, including falsifying records.One pharmacist also faces allegations of taking or misappropriating drugs from the shop on Victoria Avenue. Fort William Medical Pharmacy and two pharmacists were already under the Ontario College of Pharmacists' (OCP) scrutiny for allegations of misconduct that allegedly occurred between roughly January 2023 and May 2023. Jaspreet Sahota and Chi (Hao) Luu are facing professional misconduct hearings related to those allegations referred to the college in 2024. They include breaking federal narcotic law and dispensing prescriptions without valid authorization, according to the hearing info on the OCP public...

Alberta's government will soon tie public hospital funding to the number and type of procedures performed, a move critics warn won't improve the public system and will only accelerate private delivery.Premier Danielle Smith said Monday the new "activity-based" model, expected to be implemented for some surgeries in 2026, will drive costs down by fostering competition among public and private providers who will be rewarded for delivering better results."The old top-down approach offers no incentive to do more for patients and limits our ability to direct dollars where they can get the best results," Smith said."The problem here is [that] hospitals miss their target and there's no accountability because they've already got the pot of money."Smith said in publicly funded, privately run surgic...

A call from Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew for scientists in the U.S. to consider moving here has researchers in this province demanding more funding to give those who relocate a reason to stay.In an open letter to the provincial government, dozens of scientists, researchers and academics questioned how it expects to attract new talent, given cuts to the agency responsible for providing the bulk of research funding in Manitoba."Manitoba currently ranks last in Canada for provincial per capita research funding — a stark reality that contradicts the government's recent enthusiasm for attracting international researchers," states the letter, which by Monday evening had received nearly 250 signatures.The letter was spurred by comments Kinew made during a scrum with reporters at the Legislative Bui...

A team of researchers from the University of Saskatchewan wants to help mothers with HIV raise healthy babies. The team is looking into the accessibility and feasibility of donated breast milk for HIV-exposed infants. Source link