Tues. May 23 - ER shortages hitting South Island hospitals again

TOGETHER WITH

Good morning !

Plenty of us have come home exhausted after a May Long trip, but few can say they accomplished as much on theirs as the Langford-based Canada Rugby Sevens. They pulled out all the stops in London, UK, on Sunday to win a last-chance tournament to stay in the world’s top group.

Most other locals had a much lower-stakes weekend, with the biggest challenges likely being finding a spot to sit, stand, or park downtown.

NEWS

South Island hospital shortages and slowdowns mounting

Overnight staffing issues at Saanich Peninsula Hospital
Island Health announced on Saturday that due to staffing issues the Saanich Peninsula Hospital’s ER will focus on “serious medical needs” from 11pm to 7am. That means that non-urgent patients may wait longer or be “given the option” to go home and come back in the morning.

Island Health said that 8.5 patients would typically visit during those hours. The Saanich Peninsula ER had an abrupt full overnight closure in August 2021.

In the two years since then, Island ER closures have mainly happened in the North Island. Island Health said in March that those shortages are improving following a jolt of provincial funding in response to some ERs closing overnight indefinitely.

But ER closures are spreading back to the South Island, which has had concerning shortages, but few outright closures.

The day before the peninsula hospital notice, doctors at the Lady Minto Hospital on Salt Spring called for public support over what they say are severe staffing shortages expected to last through the summer.

Salt Spring doctors’ letter warns public
Two dozen 12-hour shifts remain unfilled through August and a doctor is not always on site, the doctors wrote to the Gulf Islands Driftwood last Friday. They say this is creating small-island-specific risks given that an ambulance can’t simply drive to the next community like at other hospitals under diversion protocols.

This problem ties in to the paramedic shortages and other health system problems in rural areas and ferry-dependent Gulf Islands—where necessary emergency care is still at times delayed by a lack of water transportation.

The Lady Minto Staff Association letter argues that doctors are burning out from keeping up 24/7 emergency and hospital care while running their own practices, and that this is being exacerbated by Salt Spring’s aging population and lack of family doctors, psychiatrists, and midwives (who have been overwhelmed for years in BC, even pre-pandemic).

Work to build the Minto a new $12.8M emergency room began a year ago and is set to finish this fall.

Read more on small islands’ challenges with emergency medical care here.

Read more on BC’s staffing crisis in nursing here.

Capital Bulletin

🌦️ Cloudy today: 30% chance of morning showers. Afternoon sun and cloud. Wind mostly light except near Juan de Fuca Strait. High 14C / low 9C.

🖥️ BC Ferries site down on busy Monday: Outages to the ferry site, app, and call centre exacerbated what was already one of the year’s busiest travel days. Web service returned at 3pm after eight hours.

NEWS

Langford-based men’s Canada Rugby 7s team wins tourney to stay in world’s top league

A literal last-minute victory over Kenya in a must-win weekend tournament has kept the men in the 2024 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series. The league of the world’s best is contracting from 16 to 12 men’s teams, to match the women’s league and the Olympics. Canada has been in the danger zone for much of this season, and came into this finale in London ranked 14 .

Canada lost Saturday’s opener to 13th Kenya, 24-19, in the final minute. That left Canada having to win every remaining game, which it did before rematching with Kenya in a finale that again went to the final minute. Every Canada player touched the ball on a play that sealed the 12-7 win and the team’s continued presence among the world’s elite.

The Langford-based national program now gets some breathing room after recent years that have featured both shaky on-field results, allegations of a toxic culture, and an external report that substantiated those and other problems.

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Capital Picks

🔄 Levidrome: Which two words spell each other backwards and are described by this clue: Cooking spray to find your way
Answer on Facebook or Twitter and tag #levidrome and #capitaldaily. Last time: Chum around the track = lap pal

📸 History Mystery competition: Figure out where this photo was taken, take your own modern version of the same place, and email it to us.

🍻 SWIFT brewing opens today: Read Tasting Victoria’s profile of the new—but retro-themed—waterfront brewery.

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In Other News

🚨 Multiple serious crashes on South and Gulf Islands over long weekend
A rollover on Island View Road left one person in critical condition and three with minor injuries, Central Saanich Police announced Monday. On Mayne Island, two men were killed in a single-vehicle crash. On Denman, crews extricated one person from a flipped car after a multi-vehicle crash. No word yet on that victim’s status.

💐 Fundraiser for man in mobility chair hit by bus downtown
Sal “Jordan” Stephens was struck by a BC Transit bus on Douglas at Belleville on May 10. His leg was amputated and he faces more surgeries and therapies, and will need a more accessible living space afterward. His twin sister is now collecting donations.

SPONSORED BY SOUTH ISLAND PROSPERITY PARTNERSHIP

Blue Tech solutions solving coastal challenges

Explore how ocean tech companies are providing solutions to today’s ocean challenges on the virtual Jun. 15 COAST Talks.

The discussion includes a non-profit disrupting traditional approaches to ecosystem restoration, an entrepreneur providing marine conservation tools, and a startup whose bioplastic solution harnesses the ocean’s bounty to lessen ocean pollution.

In Case You Missed It

🛥️ How Islanders prepare for oil spills: We sent a photographer behind the scenes to document how spill response boats and crews train at Race Rocks to be ready for a crisis. [Capital Daily]

🎈Victoria’s 123rd Victoria Day Parade: Monday brought marching bands, floats, and cultural performances out for the longest-running local street parade. Watch the video here.

🏆 The world’s best vermouth comes from a warehouse in Esquimalt: Meet the local duo who became the first Canadian winner of the top international awards for vermouth. [Tasting Victoria]

🏠 Want to age in place? Next Day Access delivers and installs mobility and accessibility products right to your home. Schedule your free in-home assessment today!*

 🌬️Windiest day of the year: Sunday was also the windiest May day in over a decade. Meanwhile, the airport has set two new records this month for most consecutive May days with highs over 21C and 22C. [YYJ Weather Records]

🤳👶 Local mothers make early-childhood learning app: The Earlybird co-founders aim to help parents measure and track development in kids 0-5. [Vic Tech Journal] 

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