From Verified HCWs:

1) Early reports suggest BC and SK challenged/unable to receive AB ICU pts or send skilled staff (ICU RNs or RTs). Normally BC and SK depend on AB for emergency capacity. MB may be only option. 1/6 2) South Zone CRH & MHRH postponing 70% surgeries, 75% endo, 80% day procedures, 70% cardiorespiratory visits, 50% women & children's visits -> urgent and emergent cases to be prioritized. AHS says starting Monday, HCWs report it has already begun. 2/6

Recap of the weekend's DMs from verified HCWs:

1) GSICU at UAH adopting "care hubs" where 1 ICU nurse with redeployed nurses (pulled from office jobs, public health, OR etc) are caring for up to 4 critically ill patients. "This is disaster nursing" one HCW says. 1/8 2) Critical care transport crews report 98% of pts are medical transports and C19 related. Including a transfer from Lac La Biche to Calgary for available/appropriate critical care bed and 4 critical C19 transfers from Edson alone today. 2/8

From our verified HCW DMs

1) Critical care transport crews as busy now as peak of 3rd wave. Smaller community ICUs being relied on more this wave than the last, to accept pts that normally would have gone to larger tertiary care ICUs. 1/5 2) ICU HCWs report "doubling" more pts now than before. Capacity made by having 1 nurse care for 2 pts simultaneously. "what was unsafe in 2019 is now routine and acceptable, the effect is we have to spend less time per patient and we can't do as much for them" 2/5

From our Verified HCWs

1) Surgeries cancelled across services/specialties at the UAH today, including "morning of" cancellations in neurosurgery (brain tumors & aneurysms) and plastics (burns & reconstructions). Our colleagues report the system is "falling apart" 1/8 2) HCWs, esp ICU nurses, sharing group resignations. Other RNs rapid redeployment to ICU to "open capacity" leaving OR, public health and home care unstaffed. ICU nurses telling us they routinely care for 2pts instead of 1, "what was unsafe in 2019 is routine in 2021" 2/8

This Twitter account was started by a multi-disc team of frontline HCWs in response to capacity (mis)estimates made by @AHS_media. Our team works in 10+ facilities that routinely close care spaces, but those closures go unreported or denied by politicians. 1/4 At first we thought the inaccurate reporting was by mistake, but as time has gone on, there simply does not seem to be the the will or ability to be transparent with Albertans about true state of the health care system. 2/4

Today has been a whirlwind! AHS has reported bed/procedure reductions today that confirm our verified HCW reports, so we will elaborate on them.

1) Across all 5 zones non-urgent surgeries are postponed

2) ~60% of surgeries in North Zone postponed 1/9 3) ~ 40% of endoscopy in Central Zone postponed

4) ~30% of all out-patient clinic appointments and endoscopy postponed in Calgary postponed

5) ~50% of all procedures and surgeries in Edmonton postponed 2/9

Thread from our DMs with verified HCWs across the province. Thank you to all our HCWs:

1) Early this morning there was some increased capacity in northern AB ICUs (discharges, transfers and deaths), but by this afternoon all ICU beds in northern AB were again full. 1/5 2) HCW at QEII reports having to make urgent requests for airway, oxygenation and ventilation equipment as demand surges. 2/5

It has been a very busy day. We'll reply and share a new thread from verified HCWs.

1) HCWs from across northerc AB sharing the impacts of a patient diversion situation - "lower acuity" presentations being sent to Valleyview, Spirit River Beaverlodge and other facilities.

https://twitter.com/AB_MD_WarRoom/status/1431771503255855104

2) Critically ill Albertans from North and Central zones are having to bypass YEG today for critical care beds in Calgary and other destinations d/t COVID19 expansions and staffing challenges there.

Our DMs are full of verfified HCW descriptions of significant system pressures.

1) Main OR at Royal Alexandra Hospital closing an OR today due to recovery room nursing shortage. This is a 50% reduction in trauma OR capacity in one of the city's busiest ORs. 1/5 2) Nurses mandated to work (told to work on days off, told they must stay late, having vacation cancelled etc.) at Alberta Children's Hospital neonatal and pediatric ICUs. This temporary staffing strategy is expected to "result in worsening shortages in the long run". 2/5

Update from our DMs from verified HCWs

1) Peter Lougheed Labour & Delivery facing extreme staff shortages. Shifts in early September are running up to 70% unfilled. Talk of mandating staff to work and changing pt admission criteria from early to later stages of labour. 2) 30% surgical capacity reduction at Stollery Children's Hospital beginning Sept 20th for non-urgent same day cases.

3) AHS Edmonton EMS facing extreme shortages. Staffing projections show as many as 21 ambulances over 24hr could be off the road in the weeks to come.

Updates from our DMs. Bed closures that went unreported by AHS are being shared by multiple independent and verified healthcare professionals.

Aug 15th UAH ED was on diversion (not accepting patients by ambulance) for opioid overdoses due to a site wide naloxone shortage. 1/4 Aug 15th UAH Neuro ICU closed 1 bed overnight due to nursing staff shortages.

Aug 10th that same Neuro ICU closed 4 beds for the same reason. Note: this is the only specialized Neuro ICU for all of Northern Alberta and this went unreported. 2/4

Weekend Update - list of closures from July 24 - August 13.

Cold Lake: 5 acute care beds closed until Sept 30 due to staff shortages

Lacombe: 11/35 acute care beds closed due to staff shortages

Grand Prairie: 14/181 acute care beds closed due to staff shortages

1/x Beaverlodge: 6/18 acute care beds closed since April

Spirit River: 4/12 acute care beds closed; ER closed Aug 12-13 due to no Docs

High Prairie: 10/30 acute care beds closed since March 1

MacLennan: 5/20 acute care beds closed

Westlock: 10/46 acute care beds closed

2/x