‘Full Bellies. Happy Hearts.' returns
Kitchener Watch
A campaign for the Food Bank of Waterloo Region has returned to ensure all kids have enough to eat through the summer months.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
9 minutes ago
- CBC
Chiropractor says being able to order X-rays is paring redundancy from P.E.I. medical system
Social Sharing After a long wait, chiropractors practising on Prince Edward Island are now able to order X-rays to help them diagnose and treat patients. "This change helps reduce the reliance on primary-care providers and emergency departments to order an X-ray," Health P.E.I. said in a statement to CBC News. "More importantly, it helps to support our Island health care professionals working towards their full scope of practice to enhance access to quality care services for Islanders." Chiropractors had been lobbying the province since at least 2022, seeking to be able to requisition X-rays themselves instead of going through a family doctor. That was impossible in some cases anyway, given that 36,000 people are on the P.E.I. Patient Registry waiting for a primary care provider to be assigned. "It's always been in our scope of practice on Prince Edward Island to be able to order imaging, and it was something that we had hoped wouldn't take as long as it did," said Dr. Chris McCarthy, the chair of the P.E.I. Chiropractic Association. "It's something that we definitely wanted to have happen quicker, but sometimes things can take time." McCarthy said the process would go like this: "We would do up a report, send it off to their primary health-care provider, the patient would then have to book an appointment with that provider, they'd have to wait a bit of time before they could get in, then get the requisition and then get the X-ray done." Patients without a primary care provider would have to use the Maple virtual health-care platform, visit an emergency room, or line up for a walk-in clinic. McCarthy said the change, in effect since April 21, will remove at least one duty from the health-care system's family doctors and nurse practitioners. "It really comes back to just improved health care and patient-centred focus," he said. "It was a bit of a redundancy in the system." He said chiropractors ordering X-rays under the new procedure have been able to identify some injuries already and get the patients the appropriate kind of care. "There was a few fractures that were identified. I know that for sure because I've spoken to a few of the chiropractors that did order those X-rays," he said. "That can make a big difference. If you have a fracture that needs to be addressed, the quicker they can have that addressed the better." Will now lobby for lab access Now for the association's next challenge. "Under the Chiropractic Act, chiropractors in P.E.I. have the scope to diagnose and treat biomechanical disorders, which includes ordering imaging, laboratory, and clinical diagnostic procedures," the Department of Health and Wellness said in a statement to CBC News. But there's something missing, said McCarthy. "We don't have access to labs at the moment. That's something that the association is hoping to move forward, in being able to access some labs," he said.
CTV News
11 minutes ago
- CTV News
Tips to stay sun safe while outside this summer
A woman helps a man apply sunscreen as they relax at Britannia Beach in Ottawa on Tuesday, June 18, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang Eastern Ontario's medical officer of health is urging people to lather on the sunscreen as they head outside this summer, warning exposure to the ultraviolet (UV) rays can lead to sunburns and cancer. 'The sunscreen is kind of your best friend,' Dr. Paul Roumeliotis told CTV Morning Live. Environment Canada says the UV index will be 7 or high today and Thursday in Ottawa, with sunshine in the forecast all weekend. 'It's quite important to recognize that, yes you tanned and so on, but there are dangers,' Roumeliotis said Wednesday morning. 'The truth of the matter is that exposure to the sun and sun burns produce cancer; you can get cancer 20-30 years later. So, the more you're exposed, the longer you're exposed it accumulates – the higher your risk. I call it being sun aware and sun safe.' Exposure to UV rays from the sun can lead to sunburns, wrinkles, skin damage, skin cancer, eye lesions and cataracts. The Eastern Ontario Health Unit says the people most at risk to UV rays from the sun are children, people participating in outdoor sports and recreation and outdoor workers. Dr. Roumeliotis says sunscreens are 'safe and will prevent cancer.' 'Sunscreen has to have an SPF factor. So what is SPF? Sun protection factor. We recommend 30 or over; what it means is if you apply it, you get protection 30 times longer than if you did not apply it,' Roumeliotis said. 'One thing we should be looking at as well is should not include PABA because that can irritate the skin. As long as the SPF is there.' The health unit offers several tips to enjoy the sun safely, including limiting time outdoors when the UV index is 3 or higher and between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Dr. Roumeliotis recommends applying sunscreen to all parts of your skin that stick out, including nose, ears and shoulders. 'Everything that is exposed to the skin. You should do that 15-20 minutes before you go out,' Roumeliotis said. 'The waterproof, you need to replace it every two hours. Especially if children go through the water, when they dry off reapply it because it will wear off.' Roumeliotis insists sunscreen is safe. 'There's no question that scientific research after research has shown if you don't protect your skin against the sun, the accumulation of those UVA and UVB rays can cause cancer,' Roumeliotis said. 'Skin cancer can be fatal. This is not anything to play with. Influencers or not, bottom line is sunscreens are safe and will prevent cancer.' Other tips to enjoy the sun safely this summer include:
CTV News
16 minutes ago
- CTV News
New safer supply clinic opens in Ottawa's Chinatown neighbourhood same day controversial clinic closes
An Ottawa councillor says it's 'incredibly frustrating' a new safer supply clinic opened in Chinatown on Monday, the same day a controversial clinic was set to close at the same location. The Northwood Recovery Clinic on Somerset Street West was expected to close on Monday, according to Coun. Ariel Troster. However, residents walking by the building Monday morning saw a clinic operating under the name New Dawn Medical. 'It's business as usual with exactly the same staff supposedly under new ownership, so there is a high level of frustration,' Troster told CTV Morning Live. According to New Dawn Medical's website, there are over 20 locations across Ontario that provide treatment for substance use such as opioids, alcohol and benzodiazepines. Troster says she spoke with the doctor overseeing New Dawn Medical on Tuesday evening. 'I'm really hoping we can work together to ensure community safety,' Troster said. 'I just do think that there are some real problems with the fact that there are no provincial regulations and they have no duty to inform us when a clinic of this nature is coming into the community. There are no regulations saying that they need to provide the level of wrap around support that an organization like the Somerset West Community Health Centre was providing.' The Northwood Recovery clinic opened on Somerset Street West in March, after initially operating in Hintonburg. The clinic billed itself as a safer supply site that provides legal drugs, like methadone, to help with addiction. 'The real genesis of this perfect storm in Chinatown started actually when the provincial government forced the Somerset West Community Health Centre to close both its supervised consumption site and its safe supply program,' Troster said. 'Both of those programs are being run to help people with serious addictions and it was being done in a way that was really accountable to the community.' The Somerset West Community Health Centre closed its supervised consumption site on March 1 following new rules that prevents sites near schools and childcare centres. Troster says since health care is a provincial responsibility, the city has no tools to prevent a clinic like New Dawn Medical or Northwood Recovery from opening. 'Safe supply is a really important health intervention for people with serious addictions; the intention is to ensure to make sure they're not taking poisoned street drugs,' Troster said. 'When it's done successfully, there are some community housing buildings where it's done within the building and people are able to take their medication on site. This private clinic model, that seems to be proliferating, it has really become the wild west and we're not seeing any provincial guardrails placed on clinics of this nature.'
