‘Like a wild roller coaster’: Montreal ICU staff open up about 4th wave challenges
Global News
Health-care workers are struggling to deal with a fourth wave of COVID-19 marked by younger people being hospitalized, the vast majority of whom are unvaccinated.
The intensive care unit at the McGill University Health Centre’s Royal Victoria hospital has been a key battleground in Quebec’s fight against COVID-19.
After treating more than 200 COVID patients throughout the pandemic, the fourth wave has brought feelings of frustration.
“The morale has changed for sure since the first wave,” said Dr. Jason Shahin, a respiratory medicine specialist who works in the ICU. “You know, people were very positive (in the first wave). Society was uplifting. So the morale, I think, has gone down a little bit, especially seeing the protests outside the hospitals.”
Global News was granted access to the Royal Vic’s ICU on Wednesday and spoke to three health-care professionals working there.
Shahin says about one-third of ICU beds at the hospital are occupied by COVID patients, and it’s still a constant battle finding space for people coming in with other issues. He says the COVID patients there right now all have something in common.
“We have around 10, 11 patients right now. They’re all unvaccinated,” he said, adding that the average age of patients is now about 50.
The youngest ICU occupant is just 21 years old.
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