Doctor invites Doug Ford, health minister to visit her ER to see 'collapsed' hospitals firsthand
A GTA emergency physician is inviting Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones for a tour of her emergency department so they can witness firsthand the staffing shortages and crisis facing the province’s health-care system.
Dr. Nour Khatib first extended the invitation on social media and again through an interview with CTV News Toronto.
- Download our app to get local alerts to your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
“This is a true open invitation. I’m a professional respectful person, there will be no hate, nothing but professional. I just want you to see what we are seeing,” Khatib explained.
It’s been a rough summer for Khatib.
The requests to pick up shifts outside the two urban hospitals where she normally works keep coming in. Either because ERs are short staffed or in danger of closing.
To fill gaps, Khatib said she drove back and forth to rural Ontario hospitals three times last week. The ERs are four hours away. She worked long shifts, she said, leaving her feeling exhausted.
Back in the city, she said emergency departments normally equipped with three doctors are sometimes down to two, and with nurses also in critically low supply, patients are not getting the attention or care they deserve.
Respiratory therapist Alisha Clark, left, and registered nurse Joy Turner take a rest in the employee break room in the intensive care unit at the Humber River Hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Tuesday, January 25, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
“The waiting room is packed, there are people waiting on the floor, there’s blood on the floor from patients who are bleeding, there’s a long triage line meaning there’s a lineup of people we don’t even know how serious their illness is.”
Khatib said even after ER patients wait hours to be admitted to the hospital, she’ll watch them wait up to two or three days for a bed.
To address the issue, she said she wants to see Bill124 repealed, nurses wages increased, and a national licensing program for doctors and nurses to seamlessly work across provinces.
But, she also says to fix the problem, it must first be acknowledged, and one reason why she believes showing political leaders the situation on the ground is so important.
Dr. Nour Khatib has invited Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones to visit her ER to see the province's health-care crisis firsthand. (Supplied)
“With the shortage, we are doing each other’s jobs. I’m taking out IVs, I’m cleaning a room. I’m bringing patients in. These are not typically the things the physicians would do, but we are doing them. My colleagues and I are all doing that because we need to make the situation work,” she said.
“I am in fact scared for the fall and winter because I don’t know how this collapsed health-care system will keep up with the volumes that are to come.”
Khatib looks forward to hearing from the premier and health minister. She said the hope is to collaborate to get healthcare in Ontario back on the right track.
CTV News Toronto has reached out to the offices of the premier and health minister and is waiting for responses.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Friday that Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
'We have laws': Premier Smith says police action justified in Calgary
The actions, including the decision to use non-lethal force, to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters from the University of Calgary campus were justified, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.