Ontario doctor puzzled after Sask. cancels transfer of ICU patient

An Ontario-based critical care doctor was surprised Wednesday when he learned his hospital would no longer be receiving ICU patients from Saskatchewan.

Dr. Michael Warner was anticipating getting an ICU patient from the province at the Michael Garron Hospital in Toronto where he works.

It wasn’t until the day before the patient’s expected arrival that Warner realized there was a change of plans.

“On Tuesday, I was asked by the medical director of my hospital if I was willing to accept a patient on Thursday, which would be incremental to the original six patients that have already been assigned to hospitals other than mine,” Warner said.

“The patient that I was accepting, or was to accept on Thursday, was to be part of a second tranche of patients for a total of 12 coming this week from Saskatchewan to Ontario.

“We accepted this patient to come on Thursday, and Wednesday at around 4:30 Eastern time, I was told that the Government of Saskatchewan cancelled the transfer.”

Ontario Health executive vice-president Dr. Chris Simpson had said on Wednesday that Ontario was prepared to receive a total of 12 patients from Saskatchewan in the very near future.

However, Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency president Marlo Pritchard said during a media conference he was “unsure” where that number came from.

Saskatchewan has sent six ICU patients to Ontario to alleviate strain on the health-care system and Pritchard said more assessments would be done to determine if more patients had to be transferred.

Warner says he wasn’t provided any explanation for the sudden change.

“I didn’t ask. It’s not my province (and) it’s not my decision. But I can say that we definitely have the resources to help,” he said.

“Based on my understanding of the situation on the ground from speaking to my fellow intensivists who work (in Saskatchewan), sending more patients would help alleviate the dire situation that they and their patients are facing in Saskatchewan.

“We can definitely accommodate 12 patients from Saskatchewan this week without impacting care for Ontarians at all.”

There are 2,300 critical care beds in Ontario, according to Warner, and as of Wednesday night, 561 of those beds were unoccupied.

He expressed great concern for the situation in Saskatchewan, adding the COVID-19 situation in the province’s hospitals is worse than at any point throughout the pandemic for Ontario.

“To put it in concrete terms, the 82 to 85 COVID ICU patients you have in Saskatchewan right now are equivalent to having about 1,075 in Ontario terms,” Warner said. “When we were at our very worst in Wave 3, we had 891 COVID ICU patients. During that time, we were moving 30 to 40 patients a day within the province to adjust capacity.

“I actually don’t know how your system is operating. I mean, it’s operating by cancelling organ transplants, hip and knee replacements, cancer care, and diagnostic imaging, but that’s not a sustainable solution.”

The lack of restrictions in Saskatchewan was shocking to Warner, more specifically the lack of gathering restrictions.

“It’s not really surprising that you’re in the situation that you are in when you have fewer restrictions than we do in Ontario, and we’re in so much better shape,” he said. “So something needs to change on the ground and I don’t think sending patients in airplanes is a long-term solution.

“You need some public health measures today to get through this very critical period.”

Warner believes the longer that Saskatchewan’s ICU’s remain at the level they are, the longer it will be until anything returns to normal.

“You have enough ICU patients in your system to know that the situation is terrible; the premier has identified already that it’s a lagging indicator,” he said. “Ontario will be here to help.

“We need to pull together as a nation. I really feel for Saskatchewanians because the situation is very bad.”