‘Most Stressful Change of My Career:’ Stranded Doctors Help Landslide Victims at BC Hospital | The Canadian News

Doctors working at Fraser Canyon Hospital in Hope, BC say they weren’t equipped to treat the number of victims injured by the Sunday night landslides along Highway 7, but they are grateful to the professionals. stranded doctors who came to help.

Dr. Stefan Patrascu was the only doctor working at the community hospital when the landslides injured several people and left hundreds stranded.

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“I was the only emergency room doctor in town and that was probably the most stressful change of my career so far,” Patrascu said.

“We got some seriously injured victims from one of the landslides.”

Patrascu was only assisted by four nurses at the 10-bed facility when search and rescue teams began flying in patient after patient, he said.

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Some of the landslide victims, including a teenager, suffered serious injuries.

“Having a very young patient who was seriously injured and not being able to transport him by land or air for 24 hours was extremely stressful,” said Patrascu.

In those first 12 hours, while Patrascu’s nursing team tried to treat as many patients as they could, other doctors from outside of Hope were trying to reach the district to help.

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Dr. Aseem Grover said he and another doctor had to take back roads and then board a CN track vehicle that crawled along the railroad tracks toward Hope.

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Both had collected critical care supplies and medications to take to the Fraser Canyon hospital.

“It was too dangerous to fly because the wind speed was about 90 kilometers per hour,” Grover said.


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They arrived Monday afternoon and were able to provide additional assistance, but the additional staff still did not allow enough time for the doctors and nurses to rest.

“You can only make people work a certain number of hours a day and they need relief too, right?” Grover said.

“Initially, our volumes increased, but the number of people calling, seeking shelter, supplies, that was quite significant.”

It was then that the hospital began seeking help from people in other parts of British Columbia who had been stranded in Hope due to the landslides.

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Grover said there were obvious signs that healthcare workers were among those trapped in Hope, because stories were spreading in the community of people conducting “health checks” on large groups and families.

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“People were doing a ‘needs assessment’ of our trapped people. They quickly took over the roles and the reins of review and you could easily identify who could provide assistance and they easily stood out, ”said Grover.

Hospital staff immediately reached out to people when they heard these stories, he added.

“From there, it was really about getting clearance and getting to work at the hospital in no time,” Grover said.

According to him, the hospital staff tripled, including the addition of five additional doctors.

“After that, it was a much more manageable situation where we were able to rotate through shifts and we were able to rest a few hours at a time,” Patrascu said.

“I want to thank the community, it is beautiful to see how the community came together to support each other, all those who were stranded here.”

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Both doctors say the hospital is still treating many local patients and making sure they are more prepared for any similar incidents in the future.

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