Health

Protesters march out of Oppenheimer Park along Powell Street in Vancouver on April 14, 2023 during an event marking the seventh anniversary of the toxic drug deaths in B.C. (Photo: Lauren Collins)

Toxic drug deaths response, care now top priority for First Nations Health Authority

When looking at abstinence as only option, it creates stigma, fear and shame: FNHA

Protesters march out of Oppenheimer Park along Powell Street in Vancouver on April 14, 2023 during an event marking the seventh anniversary of the toxic drug deaths in B.C. (Photo: Lauren Collins)
Diabetes drug Ozempic is shown at a pharmacy in Toronto on Wednesday, April 19, 2023. British Columbia is enacting a new regulation to ensure the province’s diabetes patients do not face a shortage of the drug widely known as Ozempic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Joe O’Connal

B.C. works to ensure its Ozempic supply for diabetes patients not U.S. weight loss

Province wants to work with federal government to ensure drug gets to Canadians first

Diabetes drug Ozempic is shown at a pharmacy in Toronto on Wednesday, April 19, 2023. British Columbia is enacting a new regulation to ensure the province’s diabetes patients do not face a shortage of the drug widely known as Ozempic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Joe O’Connal
Shelves typically stocked with baby formula sit mostly empty at a store in San Antonio, Tuesday, May 10, 2022. If infant formula has become akin to liquid gold for parents stressed about empty store shelves this year, Canada may be sitting on a potential treasure trove — if only it could process the raw elements. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Eric Gay

Why doesn’t Canada make its own baby formula when we have the raw ingredients?

Lack of processing capability means Canada not taking advantage of material supply

Shelves typically stocked with baby formula sit mostly empty at a store in San Antonio, Tuesday, May 10, 2022. If infant formula has become akin to liquid gold for parents stressed about empty store shelves this year, Canada may be sitting on a potential treasure trove — if only it could process the raw elements. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Eric Gay
Philip and Sonja Hathaway say they will camp in front of the B.C. legislature until they receive some news of when they will get their newborn daughter back. (Hollie Ferguson/News Staff)

Vancouver Island couple camps at B.C. legislature to protest apprehension of newborn

Philip and Sonja Hathaway say their rights and the rights of their new daughter have been violated

Philip and Sonja Hathaway say they will camp in front of the B.C. legislature until they receive some news of when they will get their newborn daughter back. (Hollie Ferguson/News Staff)
The persistent cases of mammals infected with bird flu has put Canadian wildlife and public health experts on alert, as a recent research paper warned of a “potentially devastating pandemic” if the virus mutates to efficiently spread between humans. Dr. Samira Mubareka, an infectious disease specialist and clinician scientist at Sunnybrook Research Institute and the University of Toronto, poses in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Sunnybrook Hospital

‘Potentially devastating’: Bird flu cases in mammals put scientists on alert

Fewer than a dozen confirmed human H5N1 cases globally since 2020

The persistent cases of mammals infected with bird flu has put Canadian wildlife and public health experts on alert, as a recent research paper warned of a “potentially devastating pandemic” if the virus mutates to efficiently spread between humans. Dr. Samira Mubareka, an infectious disease specialist and clinician scientist at Sunnybrook Research Institute and the University of Toronto, poses in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Sunnybrook Hospital
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau embraces Wayne Christian (Wenecwtsin), right, First Nations Health Authority Deputy Chair, as he jokes about knowing the prime minister’s late father, former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, while speaking during an announcement about First Nations health-care funding at the Squamish First Nation, in West Vancouver, B.C., on Friday, April 14, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. First Nations health gets $8.2 billion in federal funding to fix ‘disparities’

Prime Minister announces funding at the Squamish Nation in West Vancouver

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau embraces Wayne Christian (Wenecwtsin), right, First Nations Health Authority Deputy Chair, as he jokes about knowing the prime minister’s late father, former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, while speaking during an announcement about First Nations health-care funding at the Squamish First Nation, in West Vancouver, B.C., on Friday, April 14, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Jacob Wilson was 24 when he died in Abbotsford, likely due to fentanyl. His mother, a long-time school trustee in the city, is now speaking candidly about their family’s story. (Submitted photo)

VIDEO: B.C. school trustee shares heart-wrenching story of losing son to fentanyl

Jacob Wilson survived traumatic brain injury with intervention, but left to die from addiction

Jacob Wilson was 24 when he died in Abbotsford, likely due to fentanyl. His mother, a long-time school trustee in the city, is now speaking candidly about their family’s story. (Submitted photo)
FILE - This 1975 microscope image made available by the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria. U.S. health officials released data Tuesday, April 11, 2023, showing how chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis cases have been accelerating, but doctors are hoping an old drug will help fight the sexually transmitted infections. Experts believe STDs have been rising because of declining condom use, inadequate sex education and reduced testing during the COVID-19 pandemic.(Dr. E. Arum, Dr. N. Jacobs/CDC via AP)

Post-sex pill seen as new tool to fight rising STD rates

Cheap, long-available antibiotic being touted as sort of a morning-after pill in the U.S.

FILE - This 1975 microscope image made available by the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria. U.S. health officials released data Tuesday, April 11, 2023, showing how chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis cases have been accelerating, but doctors are hoping an old drug will help fight the sexually transmitted infections. Experts believe STDs have been rising because of declining condom use, inadequate sex education and reduced testing during the COVID-19 pandemic.(Dr. E. Arum, Dr. N. Jacobs/CDC via AP)
Prescription drugs are seen on shelves at a pharmacy in Montreal on March 11, 2021. Nova Scotia’s College of Physicians and Surgeons has suspended the physician responsible for writing thousands of prescriptions for Americans seeking the diabetes and weight-loss drug Ozempic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Doctor behind cross-border rush for Ozempic in B.C. is suspended in Nova Scotia

‘Based on volume alone, the prescribing is not in keeping with the standards of the profession’

Prescription drugs are seen on shelves at a pharmacy in Montreal on March 11, 2021. Nova Scotia’s College of Physicians and Surgeons has suspended the physician responsible for writing thousands of prescriptions for Americans seeking the diabetes and weight-loss drug Ozempic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
B.C. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry steps away from the podium after speaking during a news conference in Vancouver, on Monday, January 30, 2023. British Columbia is introducing a policy of decriminalization on Tuesday as part of what it says is an overall plan to prevent overdose deaths from illicit drugs. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. lifts proof of vaccination, masking requirements for entering health-care facilities

Public health officer Bonnie Henry said masking will still be necessary in some settings

B.C. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry steps away from the podium after speaking during a news conference in Vancouver, on Monday, January 30, 2023. British Columbia is introducing a policy of decriminalization on Tuesday as part of what it says is an overall plan to prevent overdose deaths from illicit drugs. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
The Supreme Court of Canada is pictured in Ottawa on Friday, March 3, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Doctor says wait times permanent after high court rejects private health challenge

Supreme Court of Canada does not release reasons for why it chooses not to hear cases

The Supreme Court of Canada is pictured in Ottawa on Friday, March 3, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix calls Supreme Court of Canada ruling against Cambie Surgery Centre a ‘vindication’ of public health care system. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

‘Vindication’ says minister after supreme court rejects B.C. private health care appeal

Ruling against BC for-profit surgery centre is a victory for public health care system: Dix

B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix calls Supreme Court of Canada ruling against Cambie Surgery Centre a ‘vindication’ of public health care system. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Minister of Health Adrian Dix calls the new contract with BC Nurses a singular success. (Black Press Media file photo)

B.C. set to introduce nurse-to-patient ratios, a first in Canada

New model part of signficant funding announced in tentative nursing collective agreement

Minister of Health Adrian Dix calls the new contract with BC Nurses a singular success. (Black Press Media file photo)
Cranbrook resident Sue Selby survived two rounds of breast cancer thanks to regular mammograms, which detected the disease early before it spread (photo courtesy of Sue Selby).

Two-time cancer survivor shares her journey to recovery for Daffodil Month

Regular mammograms caught Sue Selby’s cancer before it spread

Cranbrook resident Sue Selby survived two rounds of breast cancer thanks to regular mammograms, which detected the disease early before it spread (photo courtesy of Sue Selby).
Pixabay photo

Canada first to develop medical standards to keep kids from suffering pain in silence

New standards lay out 34 criteria to stay on top of pain management for young patients

Pixabay photo
New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh speaks before caucus, in Ottawa, Wednesday, March 29, 2023. One of the last outstanding items within the NDP-Liberal deal for this year is getting a pharmacare bill tabled in the House of Commons. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Clock ticks on Liberal-NDP deal as budget omits pharmacare bill promised in 2023

Both parties say agreed-upon program is still on track to happen

New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh speaks before caucus, in Ottawa, Wednesday, March 29, 2023. One of the last outstanding items within the NDP-Liberal deal for this year is getting a pharmacare bill tabled in the House of Commons. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
A vendor bags psilocybin mushrooms at a cannabis marketplace in Los Angeles, Friday, May 24, 2019. A lawyer alleged Tuesday Canada’s government violated the constitutional right to life, liberty and security of hundreds of patients who are on a waiting list to access psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy by rejecting applications from health-care professionals requesting permission to ingest restricted drugs as a part of their training to provide the service. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Richard Vogel

Health-care professionals fight decision to reject access to psilocybin for training

Health Canada: no evidence therapists ingesting psychedelics helps provide more effective treatment

A vendor bags psilocybin mushrooms at a cannabis marketplace in Los Angeles, Friday, May 24, 2019. A lawyer alleged Tuesday Canada’s government violated the constitutional right to life, liberty and security of hundreds of patients who are on a waiting list to access psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy by rejecting applications from health-care professionals requesting permission to ingest restricted drugs as a part of their training to provide the service. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Richard Vogel
B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix pauses while responding to questions during a news conference in Vancouver on Monday, November 7, 2022. Dix plans to announce actions on how the government will ensure patients in the province will have secure access to the diabetes and weight loss drug Ozempic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. to announce plan for access to diabetes drug Ozempic, hyped for weight loss

Almost 10 per cent of prescriptions for the drug in B.C. filled for Americans

B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix pauses while responding to questions during a news conference in Vancouver on Monday, November 7, 2022. Dix plans to announce actions on how the government will ensure patients in the province will have secure access to the diabetes and weight loss drug Ozempic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A patient is attached to a ventilator in the COVID-19 intensive care unit at St. Paul’s hospital in downtown Vancouver, Tuesday, April 21, 2020. Canada’s race to procure ventilators for COVID-19 patients in the early days of the pandemic had researchers, scientists, industry and a notable astrophysicist working “night and day” to design machines that could be quickly manufactured domestically. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Canada’s stockpile of ventilators up from 500 to 27,000 after push to procure them

Public Services and Procurement Canada says total cost was more than $807 million

A patient is attached to a ventilator in the COVID-19 intensive care unit at St. Paul’s hospital in downtown Vancouver, Tuesday, April 21, 2020. Canada’s race to procure ventilators for COVID-19 patients in the early days of the pandemic had researchers, scientists, industry and a notable astrophysicist working “night and day” to design machines that could be quickly manufactured domestically. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
A surgery is performed in the operating room at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children on Wednesday, November 30, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Surgery wait times for cancer, joint replacement patients still lagging amid backlog

Pandemic created a backlog of surgical procedures providers still haven’t been able to catch up on

A surgery is performed in the operating room at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children on Wednesday, November 30, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young