Image Credit: CFJC Today

By James Peters

Two & Out

PETERS: RIH demonstrators lost sight of how COVID-19 is impacting the entire healthcare system

Sep 3, 2021 | 11:27 AM

THE RECENT EXPERIENCE a friend of mine had at Royal Inland Hospital illustrates well why healthcare professionals were so frustrated at this week’s protest.

Coincidentally, my friend works for Interior Health and is worried about being reprimanded for speaking out, so we’ll call her Jane.

Two weeks ago, Jane was taken to RIH by ambulance because of extreme stomach pain and nausea.

When she got to the hospital, she was plopped in a wheelchair and taken to a hallway waiting room well away from the emergency room.

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Jane spent three hours in extreme pain, vomiting and having diarrhea, getting help from other patients and people waiting for care.

After three hours of pain and fear, thinking she would die alone in a hallway before being seen, she was finally wheeled into ER and seen by the staff.

The nurse told Jane there was only one other nurse on shift in the ER. Nurses and doctors were clearly being run off their feet.

Eventually, Jane was diagnosed with acute appendicitis and had an emergency appendectomy.

The story is troubling because it’s not particularly unique these days.

Jane doesn’t blame the staff who were on that night, and says when she was seen, they were extremely caring and professional.

They are simply very, very stretched.

The influx of COVID-19 patients, the majority of whom are unvaccinated, is one factor that is stretching them, in addition to burnout and the attrition that results from burnout.

This week’s protest in front of Royal Inland Hospital was, in one way, entirely successful.

The entire community is talking about it, meaning it raised plenty of awareness.

In other ways, it was a huge disaster.

As staff looked outside, they saw a group of people clearly unaware of what was going on inside the building they had targeted.

Not only that, staff saw some of the people most likely to be taking up ER and ICU beds in the near future – beds that should be available for people like Jane.

This pandemic is not just about COVID-19; it is about a ripple effect that hurts the entire healthcare system.

Any measure that encourages people to protect themselves the best way they can — by taking the vaccine — should be encouraged regardless of what trivial personal privilege it temporarily removes.

For once, those who would question vaccines and restrictions should turn their minds to people other than themselves, like doctors and nurses and Jane.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.