CTV National News: The growing spread of ticks and tick-borne disease in Canada
Every year, more parts of Canada are reporting a risk of ticks and tick-borne illnesses. Sarah Plowman on the reasons behind the spread.
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CTV News
28 minutes ago
- CTV News
Family pushes for inquest into Ontario teen's death following eight-hour wait to see doctor in ER
Finlay van der Werken is seen in these two undated photos. (Supplied) Finlay van der Werken was a smart, active older brother, with 'an infectious smile and laugh,' who dreamed of becoming a veterinarian when he grew up. But in February 2024, the 16-year-old's mother, Hazel, rushed him to the hospital, not knowing he would never return home. 'Just after 9 at night, he cried out in pain,' said Hazel van der Werken. 'It was a pain on his right side.' She told CTV News that initially van der Werken was dealing with a migraine. It was something he often got, she explained, when he was getting a cold or a bug. Not being a teenager who often cried out in pain, when he did, she told him she was going to take him to Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital. Finlay van der Werken Finlay van der Werken died after waiting for eight hours for a doctor at an Oakville hospital. (Supplied) 'He was just looking at me as if, 'What the hell's happening?'' as they drove to the hospital, she recounted. 'And I just remember being terrified that gut feeling that says something's really, really wrong.' When they got to the emergency room, she said she didn't even park the car, just abandoned it outside to get him help. A nurse brought them a wheelchair, and 'he just said, Please help me.' The family says he was triaged at 10 p.m., but it would be more than eight hours before he saw a doctor, despite his mother's repeated requests for help. 'I kept worrying that they're going to think I'm such a nuisance. And I don't want them to think that I'd be making such a fuss, and then they ignore us more,' she told CTV News. Family sues hospital Van der Werken's family is suing the hospital and staff for in excess of $1.3 million, claiming '…Finlay's pain, suffering, emotional distress and death were caused solely as a result of the negligence of the Defendants…' Their claims have not been proven in court, and lawyers for the hospital and named staff members have not responded in writing to the lawsuit yet. According to their statement of claim, hospital staff ordered him pain medication and tracked his vitals, but he did not see a physician until 6:22 a.m. 'He was triaged as a Level Two on the Canadian triage acuity scale,' said the family's lawyer, Meghan Walker. 'The guidelines say that a patient who is a Level Two, which is the second highest, should be seen by a physician within 15 minutes.' According to the statement of claim, van der Werken was experiencing 'sepsis/pneumonia with hypoxia, and he was at high risk for acute deterioration.' Finlay van der Werken Finlay van der Werken smiles at the camera as he's about to eat spaghetti in this undated photo. (Supplied) When his parents were told van der Werken had pneumonia, his mother said she had a minute where she thought it was going to be okay. 'He's a healthy 16-year-old; he's been seen now finally,' said Hazel. 'But that didn't last long.' She says he was asked to take deep breaths, but he struggled, saying it was too painful. A decision was made to try to move him to McMaster Children's Hospital, but they were unable to stabilize him. Then a team from Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children came. 'They decided he had to be intubated for transport on his stomach,' said GJ, van der Werken's father. 'That was the last time we saw Finlay conscious.' He recalled that when they tried to move him to a stretcher for transportation, van der Werken suffered a cardiac arrest that lasted about 10 minutes, 'which was unbelievable for us.' He said they got him stable enough to transport, and he was moved to Toronto. 'He got connected to an ECMO machine that basically takes over your heart and lung function so that his body would have a chance to recover and heal,' explained GJ. But his oxygen levels didn't go up and other organs were starting to be impacted. 'After several hours of his body just fighting the sepsis and no improvement, the doctor called us in to explain that there is no chance of Finlay getting better,' said GJ. He told CTV News that doctors told them they could continue with ECMO, but there was a risk that van der Werken might feel pain. 'This is not a decision any parent should ever have to make,' said GJ, but they didn't want him in pain, 'so we had to let him go.' GJ said his son died 27 hours after he'd first arrived at the Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital emergency room. van der Werken family The van der Werken family poses for a photo. (Supplied) CTV News reached out to Halton Healthcare for comment. In a statement, Dr. Cheryl Williams, EVP of Clinical Operations and Chief Nursing Executive, said, '…we extend our deepest condolences to the van der Werken family on the tragic loss of Finlay.' She goes on to say that they are 'deeply committed to delivering high-quality, compassionate care to the communities we serve across all three of our hospitals...' They are also promising to actively advance several key initiatives, such as the development of an integrated Emergency Department Working Group, the establishment of a Length of Stay committee and the launch of a new Command Centre. They are also looking into improving physician scheduling policies, refining and standardizing Hospital On-Call Coverage Criteria (HOCC) protocols, strengthening our clinical leadership structure, introducing a refreshed strategy to advance emergency care and drive continuous improvement and engaging patients and families in quality improvement efforts.'I do believe that Halton Healthcare is taking this seriously,' said Hazel. 'I do believe that they understand that big change is needed.' Family calls for change, inquest She and her husband are also pushing for change. They have started social media pages called Finlay's Voice, calling for health care reform. And they've launched a petition calling on the government to pass 'Finlay's Law.' Finlay van der Werken Finlay van der Werken is seen in these two undated photos. (Supplied) According to the petition, the law would set legal maximum ER wait times for children under 18, mandate safe pediatric nurse-to-patient and physician-to-patient ratios in emergency settings and establish independent oversight to audit hospitals, investigate pediatric ER deaths, and enforce compliance. The petition is also calling for mandating public, independent reviews of every pediatric death in an ER waiting area and funding better pediatric emergency readiness, including staffing, training, and infrastructure. The family also requested a coroner's inquest. In a statement to CTV News, a spokesperson confirms the family has requested one. 'The Regional Supervising Coroner for Toronto West will review all aspects of the death investigation that occurred before making a decision whether a discretionary inquest will be called,' said a spokesperson in an emailed statement. 'The review is not yet complete so no decision has been made.' His parents are doing this activism in his honour, saying he would have wanted to fight for fairness and justice to help others. 'He just had, from when he was born, this heart that had so much love to give,' Hazel said of her son. And they hope with their advocacy they can keep that love alive.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Opioid death rate declining nationwide; advocates stress continued action is needed
The opioid death rate in 2024 has decreased by 17 per cent since 2023, according to a Public Health Agency of Canada report. However, numbers remain high. DJ Larkin, executive director of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, says the preservation of supervised consumption sites and addressing underlying social factors are key to sustaining the decline.
CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
Public health recommends all children at Brantford, Ont., daycare get treatment after rabid bat found
Public health officials are recommending that all children at a Brantford, Ont., daycare get vaccinated for rabies after a child found a dead bat and handed it to a worker last week. Grand Erie Public Health (GEPH) is hosting a series of clinics where children can receive rabies post-exposure prophylaxis. The treatment includes one dose of rabies immune globulin, plus four doses of rabies vaccine given over a two-week period, according to a memo to parents and guardians that was viewed by CBC Hamilton. The treatment is being offered "out of an abundance of caution, given the presence of other bats associated with" Creative Minds Daycare, Dr. Jason Malenfant, acting medical officer of health, said in an email. "While the daycare has assured us that children were always under supervision, and therefore the risk of any other direct contact with a bat remains low, young children may not be able to reliably report whether they had possible contact." Last week, the daycare, which is in the city's southwest, closed Aug. 11 after a bat tested positive for rabies. GEPH investigated and reported two people had come into direct contact with the bat. It recommended they get treatment and gave Creative Minds the go-ahead to reopen Monday once a wildlife management company had taken steps to prevent bats from entering the building. The daycare said one live bat was captured and released inside the daycare a day after the dead bat was found. Owner Vicky McNabb said no one came into direct contact with it. Creative Minds also said workers found bats outside in June but there was no contact then either. Kim Stewart, parent of a son who went to the daycare, told CBC Hamilton on Friday that she took him to get vaccinated against the virus on his doctor's recommendation, and knew other parents and workers were doing the same. Alena Lukich, spokesperson for Brant Community Healthcare System, said the team at Brantford General Hospital administered 10 rabies vaccinations at the hospital on Aug. 14. Hard to tell if a bat has bitten or scratched you It's difficult to tell if a bat has rabies or not by looking at it; it's also possible to be bitten or scratched by one and not feel it, GEPH manager of environmental health Keith Corey said in an interview. "Rabies is transmitted during bites and scratches or through direct contact with the saliva of an infected animal to an open wound or your eyes, nose or mouth," Corey said. "With bats, it is possible that you would actually not see the bite marks that have been left." Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources (MNRF) said that's because bats have small, needle-like teeth and claws. Therefore, any bat someone may have been exposed to should be considered rabid unless it is captured and tests negative for rabies, the ministry says on its website. Corey said touching a dead bat also poses a risk for transmission. Generally speaking, Corey said, the risk of coming into contact with a bat is low. If you do, he said, consider whether you might have a bite or scratch or touched its saliva. If you think you might have, contact your doctor. From there, he said, your doctor can recommend if you should get rabies treatment, which is administered in partnership with your local health department. If you find a bat inside your home or business, he recommends calling a wildlife management company to remove the bat and capture it for testing. Percentage of bats with rabies is 'low' in Ontario "While bat strain rabies is present across Ontario, the percentage of rabid bats is low," MNRF says on its website, which doesn't specify the percentage. In 2024, there were 90 confirmed cases in bats in the province. Foxes, skunks and raccoons can also carry the virus. All strains of rabies are dangerous and can cause the disease in any mammal, the ministry said. Once clinical signs of rabies show, it is almost always fatal, it notes. Since 1924, 28 people with reported cases of rabies have died in Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada says. According to its website, nine of those cases were in Ontario. Last year, a Brantford-area child died from rabies in the first domestically acquired case of human rabies in the province since 1967. The child had come in contact with a bat elsewhere in the province. GEPH has seen an increase in the number of calls of bat-related incidents this year compared to previous years, Malenfant said. "This greater awareness does provide more opportunity to remind the public that rabies is a preventable disease," he said. "It is very important to not handle bats or wild animals and avoid any direct contact, and to always contact a wildlife control service for the removal of any of these animals. It is also important to ensure that pets and livestock are always up to date with their rabies immunizations."
