Partner of man who sought MAID after ER bedsore says hospital staff wouldn't listen to her
Sylvie Brosseau gave an emotional testimony at the public coroner's inquiry into Normand Meunier's death. Meunier died in 2024 after he developed a severe bedsore during a stay at a Saint-Jérôme, Que., hospital.
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CBC
18 minutes ago
- CBC
Hybrid operating room in Fredericton is expected to shorten waits, help recruitment
Social Sharing A hybrid operating room planned for Fredericton will be the first of its kind in New Brunswick, providing advanced imaging to assist surgeons as they work, supporters say. The Chalmers Foundation has to raise the $4.3 million for needed equipment, but the province has agreed to support the plan as well. The new operating room will cost an estimated $3.3 million a year to operate. The room is "really a big win" for patients, said Dr. Claus Schaus, who was a vascular surgeon at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital until he retired in January. The goal is to have the hybrid operating room "up and running in a year and a half," Schaus said. WATCH | Why vascular surgeon sees need for hybrid operating room: Doctor explains how hybrid operating room will double radiology capacity 5 hours ago Duration 2:06 A new hybrid operating room at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital in Fredericton means physicians will no longer have to use the hospital's radiology suite for some procedures, says Dr. Claus Schaus, a retired vascular surgeon. Provincial spokesperson Sean Hatchard said the timing will depend on the foundation's fundraising. "Once the money is raised, the procurement process will begin." The operating room will be equipped to allow doctors to clearly see issues and operate on them in the same space. Now, doctors have to have patients wheeled out of the operating room for imaging and then returned. The "hybrid" in the name means the room can function as a place for imaging and minimally invasive procedures as well as regular open surgery. Dr. Elna Hauman. the president of the physician staff organization and an emergency room physician at the Chalmers, said the room will help treat more patients. "I just feel so much relief knowing that our patients will be able to access the care that they need at the time that they need it," Hauman said. The hybrid room for Fredericton was proposed two years ago, and the hospital foundation committed to raising the money for it at the time. The Progressive Conservative government wasn't in favour, however, and suggested Saint John Regional Hospital install a hybrid room instead. The new Liberal government has taken a different view. "We're proud to collaborate with the Chalmers Foundation to make this long-awaited hybrid operating room a reality," Premier Susan Holt said in a new release. Charles Diab, the CEO of the Chalmers Foundation. said the new room "should shorten wait times for procedures" because doctors can "do a lot more with the equipment being there." The space is ready for the equipment and the new room could be ready to go within two months if it were dropped off today, Diab said, but the foundation is "starting from scratch" on the ambitious fundraising goal. "We've never really been confronted with such a large amount to raise for a single piece of equipment, but we are excited." Schaus said Saint John will still get a hybrid operating room, but renovations there are years behind the Chalmers. He said the new room at the Chalmers will take some pressure off the hospital's interventional radiology suite, an X-ray room with high resolution imaging equipment usually occupied by a radiologist. That suite is "already at maximum capacity." Hauman also said a hybrid operating room will allow general surgeons and urologists to perform minimally invasive procedures that aren't available at the hospital now. The Chalmers currently doesn't have a vascular surgeon following Schaus's retirement. But a hybrid operating room will help with the recruitment of a new surgeon or two which he plans to help get started, he said. "I've certainly made the commitment that I would be available for a new surgeon to come to the city, hopefully two surgeons, that I would be there as a mentor," Schaus said. Diab said prospective surgeons who are still in university are practising on a hybrid operating room "type of equipment right now."
CTV News
22 minutes ago
- CTV News
Protecting your eyes from wildfire smoke
Andre Stanberry at the School of Optometry and Vision Science at the University of Waterloo on June 9, 2025. (Heather Senoran/CTV News) As smoke from raging wildfires in northern Ontario and the western provinces continues to billow across Canada, experts are urging residents to keep an eyes out for their ocular health. Staff at the School of Optometry and Vision Science at the University of Waterloo said they have seen an increase in the amount of people complaining about eye irritation and the wildfires could be to blame. Late last week, wildfire smoke covered much of southern Ontario, leading to dangerously high Air Quality Health Index levels. 'Smoke is an irritant and so irritants coming in contact with your eyes can cause inflammation,' said Dr. André Stanberry, clinic director at the School of Optometry and Vision Science at the University of Waterloo. People with sensitive eyes may be feel the sting even more. '[It could] feel like dry eyes, which can be red, gritty, watery eyes,' he said. To optimize eye health, he said it is best to stay indoors and away from smoky areas. There are also other measures you can take. 'By using air purifiers. By using sunglasses or wraparound glasses that prevent contact on the surface,' Stanberry suggested. Artificial tears can also bring back moisture to your eyes. 'These are lubricating eye drops that can be placed on the surface of the eyes. They help to flush out the irritants,' he said. Region of Waterloo Public Health said eye health is not the only thing to watch out for when it is hazy out. 'You can experience a range of health outcomes ranging from feeling fatigue, getting out of breath more easily and just not feeling well,' said Eilish Scallan, from Region of Waterloo Public Health. The elderly, those who are very young, people with underlying health problems and pregnant women are most at risk. Smoky Kitchener, Ont. skyline The Kitchener, Ont. skyline was partially obscured by smoke in this image from June 5, 2025. How long will hazy conditions last? According to Environment Canada, things are set to clear up this week. 'The smoke is no longer making its way to the surface, so concentrations of smoke and particulate matter has decreased over the area. Pretty much all of southern Ontario, for that matter,' said Steven Flisfeder, a meteorologist with Environment Canada. He said people should keep monitoring Air Quality Health Index levels to see if it is safe to be outside for long periods of time.
CTV News
36 minutes ago
- CTV News
‘Absolutely unimaginable': N.S woman says she was falsely diagnosed with cancer
Gabriella Patey says she and her family are traumatized after she was falsely diagnosed with cancer by a Halifax hospital. The 31-year-old claims it all started on May 17, when she says she had just finished celebrating after her doctor informed her that results from the IWK, a women's health centre, showed a tumour in her breast was 'completely benign.' 'We celebrated as my mother had just died of the same cancer a year-and-a-half prior. So, it was a huge relief,' says Patey. But the celebration was short-lived, as Patey says she received a shocking call from her doctor less than a month later. 'I get a call from my primary care physician that the IWK had made a mistake, and I actually did have metastatic carcinoma, which is a very grim diagnosis,' says Patey. Just as quickly as she got that call, Patey says she went into 'survival mode' and began making calls of her own. 'I told my friends, my family, my work,' says Patey. 'I put claims in through my bank so my bills would be taken care of. And I got my primary physician that put my name on the list for medically assisted dying. 'My number one priority was to make sure my husband was taken care of. And making sure he didn't have to watch me suffer, like I had to watch my mother suffer,' she says. But things took a turn when Patey says she received another phone call from her doctor last Friday. She says her doctor informed her there had been a mix up at the IWK and that she did not have cancer. Patey says she received a second opinion on Monday, with her doctor confirming she was indeed cancer free. 'This morning, I received a phone call from my primary care physician, the director of pathology at the IWK did a full investigation. She actually went and looked through all the slides and all the reporting herself and determined that my file had been mixed up with someone else's. So now my thought is (that) there's this poor woman that's walking around that was given hope that she didn't have breast cancer. And she does. And she has one of the most aggressive breast cancer out there,' says Patey. Andrea Slaney, a spokesperson for the IWK, told CTV News Atlantic in an email Monday that, 'due to patient privacy, IWK Health is unable to comment on specific cases. However, concerns of this nature are taken seriously and a formal investigation process is followed with engagement from IWK's Quality, Patient Safety and Patient Experience team.' Patey says she does not know what to believe and her faith in the province's health-care system is lost. 'We haven't been able to sleep. We've been crying ourselves to sleep every night. And now I have to go to my work, my family, and say, 'Actually, I don't have this terminal diagnosis.'' And the shame that I feel for having to do that, even though it's not my fault,' says Patey. 'Our health-care system is broken. We know that it's been broken for some time, but it seems like if something like this can happen, are we broken beyond repair?' Patey says throughout this process, she was never once contacted by the IWK directly. She says she intends on taking legal action. 'I'm a person, I'm a human being. I'm not a number in a computer system and to not even call and say, 'We are so sorry for what has happened here.' It's just absolutely unimaginable to me,' says Patey. Gabriella Patey Gabriella Patey says she was falsely diagnosed with cancer. (Source: Vanessa Wright/CTV News Atlantic) For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
