'They are telling me how overwhelmed our ICU is': Victoria hospitals see influx of COVID-19 patients
Crystal Mundy says she is speaking on behalf of 20 doctors and nurses at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria who are afraid to come forward.
“They are telling me about how overwhelmed our ICU is,” says Mundy.
She has been following B.C.’s covid-19 numbers closely and speaking about them on social media. She says over the last two weeks, more health-care workers in Victoria have been writing to her, venting their frustrations.
“They have stated that there has just been a very big increase in terms of pressure and resources, in cases of COVID coming in,” says Mundy.
She is hearing from staff that the ICU is at capacity, that beds in other areas of the hospital are being repurposed to treat COVID-19 patients and surgeries are being bumped.
“With the significant increase in COVID cases across Island Health over the past few weeks we are seeing increasing impacts on our hospitals, including our critical care units,” Island Health said in a statement to CTV News.
“Last week, in response to increasing hospitalizations, we establish an inpatient unit for COVID patients at Victoria General Hospital to help support the increased demand for patients requiring hospitalization, but who do not require critical care,” the health authority added.
Mundy claims she is also hearing the current staffing shortage has staff at a breaking point.
“There are workers that have been sick, there’s workers that have left, there’s workers that maybe aren’t vaccinated that aren’t coming in,” says Mundy. “Whether or not they can physically take another patient, the mental well-being of these workers can’t take any more.”
Island Health admits the increased number of COVID-19 patients is challenging health-care teams.
Mundy says she fears the problem could become dire.
“If we have something like a big car crash or a ferry accident or something like that, we would have no resources to deal with that right now,” says Mundy. “We would have none.”
Island Health says it can implement surge critical care beds should they be required.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.