Emergency Care

Shortage of physicians, support systems puts health care in northern Ontario in jeopardy

The holistic style of community care that is the backbone of health care in rural northern Ontario is in jeopardy. If we care about equity, those in northern Ontario must have equitable access to the opportunity to live and die well in their communities.

Children’s visits to emergency departments surge as winter looms

Pediatric emergency departments are seeing record numbers of visits since some families can’t see their family doctors or go to walk-in clinics. More patients mean longer waits, hindering care for some children with emergency conditions.

Restoring dignity: A teenager’s insights into inpatient psychiatric admission

As a 19-year-old with bipolar disorder, I waited eight hours in the ER for a doctor. My brain may not have been bleeding, but I felt like my brain was on fire. Here's what I learned about improving care for patients experiencing a mental health crisis.

Hospitals in crisis: Emergency personnel in southwestern Ontario sounding the alarm

Emergency departments in southwestern Ontario are at a breaking point. Crowding has reached unprecedented – and dangerous – levels, forcing patients to wait close to 20 hours and leaving some regions without available ambulances.

‘Do I really need this in my life?’ Concerns grow over violence in ERs

Emergency departments are struggling to deal with staff shortages, and the violence that health-care workers face is a big reason why people are quitting the field. Doctors and nurses are calling for measures to curb the violence.

Not on the same team: Police presence in health-care settings is at odds with professional obligations and trauma-informed care

The presence of police in health-care settings can undermine the ability of doctors, nurses, and others to provide high-quality, patient-centred care. It's time we critically interrogated the role of police in these spaces.

‘You can’t manage what you don’t measure’: Hospitals slow to recognize increasing number of dementia patients

In our hospitals, we have no systems in place to identify people living with dementia, measure how many there are or how their dementia impacts our care. And hospitals are not implementing programs to improve.

How one ER partnered with a mental-health organization to care for youth in distress

Young adults recovering from mental illness and substance use are working in the emergency room of a Toronto hospital to give young patients in psychological distress the support they need.

I’ve got cancer. Will I get the care I need during a pandemic?

How long is too long? Assessing wait times in Canadian EDs

The future of emergency care: Takeaways from COVID-19

Some Canadian hospitals are half-empty – and that’s a mixed blessing

Can artificial intelligence predict emergency department crowding?

Why your next emergency room bed should be in the cloud

Performing CPR can save someone’s life. It can also cause you trauma.

OPTICal Illusions: Apixaban for Prevention of VTE and Omadacycline for Community-Acquired Bacterial Pneumonia

An Ounce of Prevention: Pantoprazole in the Intensive Care Unit and Aspirin for Primary Prevention in Diabetes

The Clot Thickens: Outpatient Management of ED Patients with Pulmonary Embolism & NSAIDs and OACs in Atrial Fibrillation

Summer Replay: Breaking the Status Quo – Antimicrobial Stewardship in Diverticulitis & Casting vs. Surgery for Ankle Fractures

Emergency room overcrowding: causes and cures