Casualties of icy weather fill emergency rooms

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This article was published 10/02/2009 (6176 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Hospitals in Winnipeg brought in extra staff Tuesday to deal with an exceptional number of visits to emergency rooms by people struggling on icy roads and sidewalks across southern Manitoba.

As doctors arrived for work, one senior health official said Tuesday, there was already an influx across the city of injuries such as twisted ankles and even broken bones.

"I don’t think we’ve had anything like this in the last 10 years," said Dr. Ricardo Lobato de Faria, acting head of emergency programs for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and chief medical officer at Seven Oaks hospital.

"We saw about as many injuries yesterday as we see for a whole week," Lobato de Faria added. "Each hospital saw about 30 more and the total for yesterday was about 290."

Hospitals tried to prepare in advance for the heavy traffic. Three extra physicians were called in during peak hours — one each at Victoria, Concordia and Grace hospitals — and other staff worked overtime to handle the large number of injuries caused by weather-related falls.

"This was the first time we had to be prepared to bring extra physicians in," Lobato de Faria said. "We realized that it was something we could do and that people would be willing to come, even if it was only for three or four hours. And a lot of staff, a lot of nursing staff, were very keen to stay out and help a bit longer, if we needed them more. They were willing to help."

joe.paraskevas@freepress.mb.ca