Healthcare

Interior Health said its new toll-free line will help people connect to health-care services. (File)

Interior Health expands toll-free line to improve access to community care

By calling1-800-707-8550, people can be connected to several health-care services

 

(Needpix)

Risk of death higher for multiple emergency room visits linked to alcohol: study

The majority of deaths were from accidental poisoning, suicide and trauma

 

(Pixabay)

Wave of racist emails ‘unleashed’ on B.C. researchers investigating racism in health care

The team has received close to 600 calls and emails since the investigation started in July

 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes part in a press conference during the COVID pandemic in Ottawa, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says provinces have to do more work to address racism in the health-care system. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

VIDEO: Provinces need to address racism in the health-care system, Trudeau says

Minister Miller said feds can use financial leverage over health care to fight anti-Indigenous racism

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes part in a press conference during the COVID pandemic in Ottawa, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says provinces have to do more work to address racism in the health-care system. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
The B.C. NDP have pledged to make contraception options such as birth control pills, IUDs, the patch, and the Nuva ring free for all. (AccessBC)

B.C. NDP’s pledge of free birth control followed by Liberals, Greens

AccessBC says burden of paying for contraception should be carried by society, not just women

The B.C. NDP have pledged to make contraception options such as birth control pills, IUDs, the patch, and the Nuva ring free for all. (AccessBC)
Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam looks at a slide projected on a screen during a news conference in Ottawa, Friday, Oct. 9, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

COVID-19 spread shifts to seniors as outbreaks rise in long-term care homes: Tam

Country struggling as second wave of pandemic continues

Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam looks at a slide projected on a screen during a news conference in Ottawa, Friday, Oct. 9, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
A Kelowna registered nurse has been suspended for his failure to adhere to proper infection control practices. (Darko Stojanovic - Pixabay)

B.C. nurse suspended for not following COVID-19 protocols

The B.C. College of Nursing Professionals said the nurse failed to adhere to science-based infection control practices

A Kelowna registered nurse has been suspended for his failure to adhere to proper infection control practices. (Darko Stojanovic - Pixabay)
A health-care worker sprays a woman’s hand with disinfectant as she waits to be tested for COVID-19 at a testing clinic in Montreal, Sunday, October 4, 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues in Canada and around the world. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

SARS was ‘dress rehearsal for COVID-19’ but Canada failed health-care workers: report

Canada’s infection rate among health-care workers is four times that of China, the report says

A health-care worker sprays a woman’s hand with disinfectant as she waits to be tested for COVID-19 at a testing clinic in Montreal, Sunday, October 4, 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues in Canada and around the world. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
Kimberly Berger poses for a photo with her son, Jonah, 12, in this undated handout photo. Berger and her son travelled to Seattle, Wash., last February where he underwent proton beam therapy for a brain tumour at a private clinic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Kimberly Berger *MANDATORY CREDIT*

Experts, national parents group, call for specialized proton therapy clinic in Canada

Proton radiotherapy uses a beam of protons to irradiate cancerous tissue in children and adults

Kimberly Berger poses for a photo with her son, Jonah, 12, in this undated handout photo. Berger and her son travelled to Seattle, Wash., last February where he underwent proton beam therapy for a brain tumour at a private clinic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Kimberly Berger *MANDATORY CREDIT*
People take part in a protest called ‘Justice for Joyce’ in Montreal, Saturday, October 3, 2020, where they demanded Justice for Joyce Echaquan and an end to all systemic racism. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Quebec coroner’s office to launch public inquest into Joyce Echaquan’s death

Echaquan died after she filmed herself from her hospital bed while she was in distress, pleading for help

People take part in a protest called ‘Justice for Joyce’ in Montreal, Saturday, October 3, 2020, where they demanded Justice for Joyce Echaquan and an end to all systemic racism. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
A picture of Joyce Echaquan is seen during a vigil on Tuesday, September 29, 2020 in front of the hospital where she died in Joliette, Que. Advocates say the fate of Echaquan is a tragic example of the systemic racism many Indigenous people face while accessing health care. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

Joyce Echaquan’s death highlights systemic racism in health care, experts say

The Atikamekw mother of seven died soon after she filmed herself from her hospital bed

A picture of Joyce Echaquan is seen during a vigil on Tuesday, September 29, 2020 in front of the hospital where she died in Joliette, Que. Advocates say the fate of Echaquan is a tragic example of the systemic racism many Indigenous people face while accessing health care. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
Linda Silas, president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, talks with reporters after a breakfast meeting with Canadian premiers in St. Andrews, N.B. on Friday, July 20, 2018. Health care workers in Canada made up about 20 per cent of COVID-19 infections as of late July, a figure that was higher than the global average. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

Nearly 20 per cent of COVID-19 infections among health-care workers by late July

WHO acknowledged the possibility that COVID-19 might be spread in the air under certain conditions

Linda Silas, president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, talks with reporters after a breakfast meeting with Canadian premiers in St. Andrews, N.B. on Friday, July 20, 2018. Health care workers in Canada made up about 20 per cent of COVID-19 infections as of late July, a figure that was higher than the global average. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
The Kootenay Boundary region will see 33 new practitioners hired over the next three years. Photo: Black Press file photo

Health ministry to hire 33 new practitioners for Kootenay Boundary

Over 15,000 people in the region don’t have access to a primary care provider

The Kootenay Boundary region will see 33 new practitioners hired over the next three years. Photo: Black Press file photo
FILE – British Columbia Health Minister Adrian Dix speaks before Premier John Horgan announces a new hospital would be built in Surrey, B.C., on Monday December 9, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. to launch 22 primary care networks to provide team-based health care

Networks aim to bring more integrated, closer-to-home care based on community needs

FILE – British Columbia Health Minister Adrian Dix speaks before Premier John Horgan announces a new hospital would be built in Surrey, B.C., on Monday December 9, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Dr. Brian Day, Medical Director of the Cambie Surgery Centre, sits for a photograph at his office in Vancouver on Aug. 31, 2016. A lawsuit that begins today in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver has the potential to fundamentally change the way Canadians access health care. Day, who operates a private surgical centre in Vancouver, is challenging B.C.’s ban on Canadians buying private insurance for medically necessary services already covered by medicare. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)

B.C. Supreme Court rules against private healthcare centre, sides with province

Case was between Cambie Surgery Centre and the province

Dr. Brian Day, Medical Director of the Cambie Surgery Centre, sits for a photograph at his office in Vancouver on Aug. 31, 2016. A lawsuit that begins today in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver has the potential to fundamentally change the way Canadians access health care. Day, who operates a private surgical centre in Vancouver, is challenging B.C.’s ban on Canadians buying private insurance for medically necessary services already covered by medicare. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)
BC EHS paramedics, dispatchers, and call-takers expertly handle more than 1,400 medical emergency calls a day – that’s about half a million calls annually according to BC Emergency Health Services. Photo Credit: Josh Berson

Patient care first: Why B.C. firefighters are calling for more medical training

Firefighters want more responsibility partly because they outnumber paramedics

BC EHS paramedics, dispatchers, and call-takers expertly handle more than 1,400 medical emergency calls a day – that’s about half a million calls annually according to BC Emergency Health Services. Photo Credit: Josh Berson
Employees work at the Canadian Hospital Specialities (CHS) helping take dual COVID-19 testing swab kits and separating them into two units to help with swab capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic in Oakville, Ont., on Monday, June 8, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

B.C. study finds 25% of people think health-care workers shouldn’t be out in public

One-third said they didn’t want to be anywhere near a health-care worker

Employees work at the Canadian Hospital Specialities (CHS) helping take dual COVID-19 testing swab kits and separating them into two units to help with swab capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic in Oakville, Ont., on Monday, June 8, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
FILE – British Columbia Health Minister Adrian Dix speaks during an announcement about a new regional cancer centre, in Surrey, B.C., on Thursday, August 6, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. announces children’s complex care transition facility in Vancouver

Dix says centre will be the first facility in Canada providing a comprehensive range of supports

FILE – British Columbia Health Minister Adrian Dix speaks during an announcement about a new regional cancer centre, in Surrey, B.C., on Thursday, August 6, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
FILE - In this May 24, 2019, file photo a vendor bags psilocybin mushrooms at a pop-up cannabis market in Los Angeles. Despite pandemic conditions that made normal signature-gathering almost impossible, activists in the nation’s capital say they have enough signatures for a November ballot initiative that would decriminalize natural psychedelics such as mescaline and psilocybin mushrooms. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

Canada approves psilocybin for compassionate use in four patients

The four Canadians are believed to be the first known patients to legally use psilocybin

  • Aug 6, 2020
FILE - In this May 24, 2019, file photo a vendor bags psilocybin mushrooms at a pop-up cannabis market in Los Angeles. Despite pandemic conditions that made normal signature-gathering almost impossible, activists in the nation’s capital say they have enough signatures for a November ballot initiative that would decriminalize natural psychedelics such as mescaline and psilocybin mushrooms. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)
Who cares for the caregivers? Mental health supports for front line workers

Who cares for the caregivers? Mental health supports for front line workers

New peer support program connects healthcare workers with someone who understands

  • Jul 20, 2020
Who cares for the caregivers? Mental health supports for front line workers