Thread by @awong37

Hi everyone. Coming off 2 weeks of call tomorrow AM. So sorry to be #debbiedowner but holy cats, #YQR hospitals are full of #COVID19 patients either intubated or requiring high-flow O2. Frontline providers are worried, anxious, and scared. (1/n) #COVID19SK

Hypothetically, if 1/3rd of current ward patients in #YQR requiring high-flow O2 deteriorate tomorrow AM and need ICU support, there would not be an obvious place for them to go. ICU beds in #YQR, including surge as of today, would be completely full. Yikes. (2/n)

One challenge we face with these critically ill #COVID19 patients is that they are so sick for so long, there's just no turnover of ICU beds where people improve and can be moved to the wards quickly to make room for new patients. (3/n)

Add to this the challenge of looking after these people every day, where so little changes, where so many deteriorate & die, and it is a true crisis for frontline ICU staff - nurses, RTs, etc. Burnout is very real. These are our best people - they can't be replaced easily. (4/n)

Add to this in the last 2 days I was called about 6 additional patients across southern SK deteriorating and requiring high-flow O2 +/- mechanical ventilation in smaller centers - Moose Jaw, Yorkton, Weyburn, Estevan. (5/n)

In summary, everything is bad in southern SK. Immediate measures that will help us all:

- vaccinate frontline essential folks ASAP while continuing to vaccinate by age
- paid sick leave & isolation supports
- further mandated measures
- stay home, everyone

(6/n)

What southern SK is seeing now (we're not even at peak yet) will be central & northern SK reality soon. If we intervene aggressively now, it will be less worse. Please, now more than ever, make the best decisions & take care of each other, #SK. Be safe this week. #COVID19SK