So Covid-19 has made me reflect on what it takes to be a good emergency physician - good communication skills, team leadership, clinical decisiveness, exuding confidence to the patient and other members of the health care team, having a plan beyond "A" and "B" and a societal view
It is no wonder, therefore, that a good number of emergency physicians in Ontario seem suspicious of Covid preparedness in the Province.
They may be right; they may not be. Nobody really knows what's coming. We are all hoping to dodge a big bullet.
They may be right; they may not be. Nobody really knows what's coming. We are all hoping to dodge a big bullet.
Plans developed in secrecy don't help and don't allow for front line input - we recognize some of the deficiencies right out of the gate but do we get to highlight them before they become an issue
So government and hospitals need to think about much better communication
So government and hospitals need to think about much better communication
Leadership is necessary but can't be a government e-mail missive saying that plans are nebulously in development
Similarly, provincial medical associations should be thinking about the safety and emotional resilience of front-line emergency staff - not really in evidence
Similarly, provincial medical associations should be thinking about the safety and emotional resilience of front-line emergency staff - not really in evidence
Since we all know that with our crowded hospitals we have no surge capacity , we have limited confidence that such surge capacity can be achieved unless we are putting up army tents in parking lots or hockey rinks - which would be OK as long as we know that's the plan
The impact of press coverage/social media/is not great but neither is 'Canadians have currently little to worry about' when Italy is shut down overnight.
Better public education is required because despite the warnings not to go to the ER they are - telehealth is sending them, EMS is transporting them and the required level of response is disruptive to an already ridiculously difficult situation of providing routine care in an ER
So emergency physicians, I think are looking for more. We want to hear the plans, we want to be reassured we will soon have designated off-site testing, that since we have limited availability of negative pressure rooms how do we prevent disease transmission in our departments..
We want to hear about surge capacity, about regionally available ventilated beds, about adequate staffing, about the psychological well-being of our staff and some discussion about the ethical difficulties of triage.
Is this too much to ask?
