Kids needing surgery will be flown from Vancouver Island to Vancouver after pediatric surgeon takes 'unanticipated' leave
A shortage of pediatric surgeons on Vancouver Island has hospitals there on pediatric diversion, meaning any children who need surgery will be sent to Vancouver for care.
The diversion began Friday and CTV News Vancouver has learned that health officials don’t have an exact date on when the situation will change
“Due to the unanticipated short-term leave of one of the two surgeons providing pediatric general surgery at Victoria General Hospital, the majority of Vancouver Island pediatric patients requiring surgery will need to be transferred to BC Children’s’ Hospital for care,” explained a Ministry of Health spokesperson in an email, adding the other surgeon was already on scheduled time off.
BC Children’s Hospital is the backstop for pediatric units across the province and supports children’s care in such rare events.
“While the surgeon is away for several weeks, we anticipate the period of diversion will not last that long as Island Health continues to advance plans to have surgical coverage in place as soon as possible,” added the spokesperson.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Ottawa pizzeria places among top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world at international competition
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
Wildfire near Fort McMurray more than triples overnight, several evacuation alerts remain in place
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Putin replaces Russian defence minister in rare cabinet shakeup
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Suspect sought after fatal slashing in downtown Toronto
Police are searching for a suspect in a homicide investigation after a man was slashed in downtown Toronto on Sunday.
WATCH Dashcam video shows terrifying near-miss on two-lane northern Ontario highway
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Edibles, armchairs and adapters: Here are the recalls for this week
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.