Health

A health care worker is seen outside the Emergency dept. of the Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver on March 30, 2020. Hospital emergency rooms in Alberta are likely to assess complaints from First Nations people as less urgent than those from other patients even when their problems are the same, says a new study that looked at millions of such visits. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Study suggests Alberta First Nations people tend to get lower level of emergency care

More than 11 million emergency room visits between 2012 and 2017 from across Alberta analyzed

 

Elizabeth Holmes, second from left, walks out of federal court in San Jose, Calif., Friday, Dec. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

Silicon Valley blood-testing startup promoter convicted of fraud and conspiracy

Prosecutors depicted Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes as a charlatan obsessed with fame and fortune

 

Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos participates in a news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic and the omicron variant, in Ottawa, on Friday, Dec. 17, 2021. Duclos has put a six-month pause on new regulations designed to lower the cost of patented medicines in Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Liberals delay new regulations to lower price of medicines in Canada

The regulations were supposed to come into force at the beginning of January

 

Alberta Finance Minister Travis Toews delivers the 2021 budget in Edmonton on Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. An Alberta nurses’ union is asking members to sign off on a proposed four-year collective agreement that amounts to pay increases of 4.25 per cent. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Alberta registered nurses to vote on four-year deal with pay hike of 4.25 per cent

Union says deal also includes a one-time lump sum payment recognizing pandemic service

Alberta Finance Minister Travis Toews delivers the 2021 budget in Edmonton on Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. An Alberta nurses’ union is asking members to sign off on a proposed four-year collective agreement that amounts to pay increases of 4.25 per cent. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
To support mental health programs at BC Children’s Hospital, Amica Douglas House purchased a $1,000 tree and spent an evening decorating for the Festival of Trees, on through Jan. 4 at The Bay Centre in Victoria. (Courtesy Amica Douglas House)

Christmas tree forest in Victoria raising funds for children’s mental health programs

Festival of Trees, on now through Jan. 4 at The Bay Centre, celebrates its 30th year

To support mental health programs at BC Children’s Hospital, Amica Douglas House purchased a $1,000 tree and spent an evening decorating for the Festival of Trees, on through Jan. 4 at The Bay Centre in Victoria. (Courtesy Amica Douglas House)
Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam speaks during a technical briefing on the COVID pandemic in Canada, Friday, January 15, 2021 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Canada’s public health system needs renewal, chief officer Dr. Theresa Tam says

‘We were not prepared to face a public health emergency of the magnitude of COVID-19’

Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam speaks during a technical briefing on the COVID pandemic in Canada, Friday, January 15, 2021 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
The Perfect Storm Group in Parksville Qualicum Beach is moving forward with a request for proposal following funding for a feasibility study from the Qualicum Beach town council. (Black Press media file photo)

Alberta surgeon handed 4-month suspension for hanging noose on operating-room door

Rope had been put on a door leading to an operating room in Grand Prairie, Alta., in 2016

The Perfect Storm Group in Parksville Qualicum Beach is moving forward with a request for proposal following funding for a feasibility study from the Qualicum Beach town council. (Black Press media file photo)
Leila Durzi, a board member of the Victoria Coats for Kids Association, shows off examples of winter coats that are in dire need for kids across the region. Cash and coat donations can be dropped at the guest services kiosk in Hillside Shopping Centre. (Christine van Reeuwyk/News Staff)

Charity needs quality winter coats to keep kids warm across Greater Victoria

‘Every kid deserves a coat’

Leila Durzi, a board member of the Victoria Coats for Kids Association, shows off examples of winter coats that are in dire need for kids across the region. Cash and coat donations can be dropped at the guest services kiosk in Hillside Shopping Centre. (Christine van Reeuwyk/News Staff)
Canadian Health Coalition’s Steven Staples, seen in an undated handout photo, says he is not surprised that the Nordorthopaedics Clinic in Kaunas, Lithuania, reported a 50 per cent increase in Canadian patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Steven Staples

Canada’s surgery backlog heightens inequities in health care: advocacy group

Lithuanian clinic has reported 50 per cent increase in Canadian patients during pandemic

Canadian Health Coalition’s Steven Staples, seen in an undated handout photo, says he is not surprised that the Nordorthopaedics Clinic in Kaunas, Lithuania, reported a 50 per cent increase in Canadian patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Steven Staples
Indigenous families are grossly overrepresented in birth alerts in B.C. File photo of reporter Anna McKenzie and her daughter taken by Captured Memories Photography. Bayleigh Marelj, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Indigenous lawsuit seeks damages from B.C. for disproportionate birth alerts

Suit alleges alerts motivated by discriminatory and harmful stereotypes about parenting capabilities

Indigenous families are grossly overrepresented in birth alerts in B.C. File photo of reporter Anna McKenzie and her daughter taken by Captured Memories Photography. Bayleigh Marelj, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Sharon Durham pictured in Edmonton on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. Durham’s surgery for a rare cancer in her face was cancelled in Alberta during the peak of the province’s fourth wave. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson.

‘I put life on hold:’ Woman who had delayed surgery in Alberta says she lost her nose

Alberta cancelled non-essential surgeries in late September

Sharon Durham pictured in Edmonton on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. Durham’s surgery for a rare cancer in her face was cancelled in Alberta during the peak of the province’s fourth wave. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson.
A new map is available online to search radon exposure rates in various communities around B.C., to highlight the importance of indoor radon testing. (BC Centre for Disease Control image)

Radon testing advised for all B.C. homes to reduce cancer risks

New interactive map estimates local health risk due to indoor radon levels in B.C.

A new map is available online to search radon exposure rates in various communities around B.C., to highlight the importance of indoor radon testing. (BC Centre for Disease Control image)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau puts on a mask as he listens to Chief Public Health Officer of Canada Dr. Theresa Tam speak via video during a news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic, in Ottawa, Friday, March 12, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

COVID-19 spending spike poses challenge for Canada’s post-pandemic health systems

Spending surge is expected to reach a record $308 billion in 2021

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau puts on a mask as he listens to Chief Public Health Officer of Canada Dr. Theresa Tam speak via video during a news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic, in Ottawa, Friday, March 12, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
A settlement has been approved in lawsuit lodged against an Ottawa fertility doc alleged to have used the wrong sperm, including his own, in multiple instances. (pixabay)

$13 million settlement approved with fertility doc alleged to have used wrong sperm

Judged has signed off on the settlement in the class-action case against Dr. Norman Barwin

A settlement has been approved in lawsuit lodged against an Ottawa fertility doc alleged to have used the wrong sperm, including his own, in multiple instances. (pixabay)
John Haggie, Newfoundland and Labrador minister of health and community services responds to a reporter’s questions in Winnipeg, Thursday, June 28, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

Suspected cyberattack in N.L. hits ‘brain’ of province’s health-care system

SItuation leads to cancellation of several non-emergency medical appointments and procedures

John Haggie, Newfoundland and Labrador minister of health and community services responds to a reporter’s questions in Winnipeg, Thursday, June 28, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods
Brian Wise is hoping his case will be revisited and he will be given access to the treatment that once worked for him. (Jessica Peters/ Abbotsford News)

Mismanaged forgotten: Abbotsford man hoping for help after decades of pain

‘I don’t know if I want to keep fighting, just to stay alive’

Brian Wise is hoping his case will be revisited and he will be given access to the treatment that once worked for him. (Jessica Peters/ Abbotsford News)
A coalition of front-line health-care workers have asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to fast-track proposed legislative amendments to grant paid sick leave to federally regulated workers. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visits a vaccine clinic in Ottawa on Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Health-care workers demand Trudeau fast track paid sick-leave policy

Decent Work and Health Network says PM’s promise do so within 100 days not fast enough

A coalition of front-line health-care workers have asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to fast-track proposed legislative amendments to grant paid sick leave to federally regulated workers. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visits a vaccine clinic in Ottawa on Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Health workers screen people for tuberculosis and leprosy in Dharavi, one of Asia’s biggest slums, in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Tuberculosis deaths rise for 1st time in years, due to COVID-19

U.N. health agency said 1.5 million people worldwide died of the bacterial disease last year

Health workers screen people for tuberculosis and leprosy in Dharavi, one of Asia’s biggest slums, in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Polio survivor Beverley Gill. Contributed photo

‘It makes me feel angry, disappointed, and sad,’ B.C. polio survivor says of vaccine refusal

Campbell River resident wishes she could talk to anti-vaxxers about her struggles

Polio survivor Beverley Gill. Contributed photo
A chunk of asbestos is displayed in Asbestos, Que., in an August 10, 2016, file photo. A group of doctors and environment advocates say the Liberals need to close a loophole that is allowing the resale of second-hand products containing asbestos. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

Doctors alarmed by loophole allowing sale of used asbestos products

Canada banned the cancer-causing mineral and products that contain it in 2018

A chunk of asbestos is displayed in Asbestos, Que., in an August 10, 2016, file photo. A group of doctors and environment advocates say the Liberals need to close a loophole that is allowing the resale of second-hand products containing asbestos. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson