Health

British Columbia clinicians have received new guidance about involuntary care for adults, including a directive that it cannot be used to prevent harmful "risk-taking" by people who use drugs whose behaviour is not related to mental impairment. The guidance from Dr. Daniel Vigo, B.C.'s first chief scientific adviser for psychiatry, is aimed at helping clinicians and others decide when involuntary admission is appropriate for people with both mental-health and substance-use disorders.Vigo said in a news release that involuntary treatment "can be a tool to preserve life and treat the source of impairment" among those with such complex needs.Health Minister Josie Osborne says the new guidance doesn't constitute changes to the Mental Health Act. (Mike McArthur/CBC)Health Minister Josie Osborne...

Advocacy organizations won't appeal an Ontario court's decision to dismiss their Charter challenge of the province's long-term care (LTC) law, which allows hospitals to move people into homes they didn't choose or be charged $400 a day to remain in hospital.The case, launched by the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly (ACE) and the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), was heard in the Superior Court of Justice in September. The two parties argued Bill 7, the More Beds, Better Care Act, — which was passed in 2022 — violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms so the law should be overturned. The provincial government, however, maintains the law is necessary to free up much-needed hospital beds.In mid-January, the court sided with the province and decided to dismiss the case. In an interview with CBC ...

Years before some 2,500 patients of a Toronto gynecologist were warned about a possible infection risk linked to improperly cleaned tools, Rachael Millanta filed a complaint about her experience at the clinic.After CBC Toronto was first to report on Dr. Esther Park's office where Toronto Public Health said earlier this month that cleaning protocols were not being followed, several patients have come forward to share their negative encounters with Park, many expressing their frustration that their voices weren't being heard. Millanta was one of them.Millanta said she filed a complaint with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) in April 2021. She said she was asked personal questions by Dr. Park with the door open and told to undress from the waist down while the door rema...

Three people died a little over an hour apart in Victoria on Monday, Victoria police and the B.C. Coroners Service have confirmed. An outreach worker says the city's enforcement of anti-sheltering bylaws has made it more difficult for support workers to help those struggling on downtown streets and blames their deaths on drug overdoses.The B.C. Coroners Service says a man also died in downtown Victoria on March 8 and that the cause of all four deaths is still under investigation. On Tuesday, Island Health issued an advisory of an increased risk to those using unregulated substances on the South Island, as "drug poisonings are increasing in Greater Victoria."Karen Mills, founder of Peer 2 Peer Indigenous Society, says she's never seen so many deaths within the local street community as she ...

Dr. Alex Wong vividly remembers the night, five years ago, when he read modelling data about the potential surge of COVID-19 positive patients in Saskatchewan. His kids were sleeping peacefully, unaware of what was coming."[It] basically showed that we were going to get crushed, like the system was going to get crushed," he said, revealing that he and many others felt a deep-seated fear and anxiety about what was to come. "I read that and I just felt this horrible pit in my stomach."COVID-19 hit Saskatchewan in the spring of 2020, with the province announcing its first case on March 12.It was the start of an exhausting journey for health-care workers, who say they're still trying to recover from the toll it took on them.Dr. Alex Wong is a Regina infectious diseases specialist, who advocate...

Measles is making a comeback in Quebec, with public health officials warning hockey fans about a possible exposure at a recent Montreal Canadiens' game.From December to March in the province, at least 31 cases were reported and experts point to one cause — declining vaccination rates."The unifying theme for all of these places as to why measles is causing outbreaks or is out of control is very simple: low vaccination rates," said Dr. Donald Vinh, an infectious disease specialist at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC).Data from Quebec public health, obtained by Radio-Canada, shows vaccination rates declined during the COVID-19 pandemic."It's true that during the pandemic, there was difficulty of access. And access is really the key to making vaccination as easy as possible for parent...

Derek Illman of London, Ont., is a fitness fanatic and a self-proclaimed "podcast junkie." Through conversations at the gym and while listening to podcasters, the 55-year-old learned about testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and its potential in boosting energy and strength."I thought, 'If TRT can help me get some minor improvements in performance at the gym, will that translate to longevity?'" said Illman."It makes sense to me in my non-medical mind that improved performance at the gym should translate potentially into a healthier day-to-day feeling or ideally, better aging." I think in a properly assessed individual, testosterone can be a wonderful treatment that's very effective.- Dr. Gerald BrockIllman said his gym friend told him it was easy to purchase TRT online, but Illman wante...

British Columbia has turned its eye toward luring doctors and nurses from the United States to move north in what Health Minister Josie Osborne is calling an "unprecedented" recruitment opportunity.Osborne says the province is changing its licensing rules so U.S.-trained doctors can begin practising in B.C. right away, without any need for further assessment, exams or training.She said there will be a similar scale-back of the barriers facing U.S.-trained nurses and that a marketing campaign will be unveiled in Washington, Oregon and California within the next few months."With the uncertainty and chaos happening south of our border, we have an unprecedented opportunity to attract skilled health-care workers interested in moving to Canada," Osborne said in a statement.She was more blunt in ...

Hantavirus, the rodent-borne pathogen blamed for the death of concert pianist Betsy Arakawa, the wife of actor Gene Hackman, is a rare but often fatal virus that has killed at least 34 people in Canada over the past three decades.Arakawa, 65, died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in mid-February, roughly a week before the 95-year-old Hackman died of heart failure, likely brought on by his dementia and his inability to care for himself, according to the chief medical investigator for New Mexico.What is hantavirus?Multiple hantaviruses have been reported around the world, and all are spread by rodents such as rats and mice. Five species in North America are known to carry hantaviruses, three of which are commonly found in Canada: the deer mouse, white-footed mouse and red-backed vole. In hum...

The Cure is a CBC News series examining strategies provinces and territories are using to tackle the primary care crisis.When doctors Jacques and Mariska Neuhoff take their two kids to the park in their home in Williams Lake, they can just let their kids play.And they never forget just how special that is.They moved to the Interior B.C. community of around 11,000 people five years ago from Pretoria in South Africa. They didn't want their children to have to grow up in gated communities."Here we have the freedom and the luxury of roaming free, having our kids play around, riding their bikes outside, visiting neighbors," Said Jacques Neuhoff. "That's priceless, to be honest."It wasn't easy getting here. The couple estimates they spent about three years and around $60,000 on flights and exams...