Established by the President of the Royal Society of Canada in April 2020, the RSC Task Force on COVID-19 was mandated to provide evidence-informed perspectives on major societal challenges in response to and recovery from COVID-19.
The Task Force established a series of Working Groups to rapidly develop Policy Briefings, with the objective of supporting policy makers with evidence to inform their decisions.
Overview of “COVID-19 Pandemic: The Impact on Canada’s Intensive Care Units”
The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged our ability to deliver life-saving acute and critical care to Canadians more than any other stress to the healthcare system in our recent history. It has exposed the precarious demand-capacity balance that has evolved in Canadian health care; one where capacity just matches demand during most periods of the year.
We have learned that pandemics have long-lasting effects on patients, health care workers, and the general population. An important element of this pandemic response should now be focused on preventing and treating post-COVID-19 syndrome in patients, supporting the mental and physical health of health care workers and solidifying the national research infrastructure needed to respond to the next health care crisis.
Authors of the Report
R.T. Noel Gibney, Department of Critical Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta
Cynthia Blackman, Dr. Cynthia Blackman and Associates
Melanie Gauthier, Faculty of Nursing, McGill University; President, Canadian Association of Critical Care Nurses
Eddy Fan, Interdisciplinary Division of Critical Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto; Department of Medicine, University Health Network
Robert Fowler, Interdisciplinary Division of Critical Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto; Department of Medicine, Sunnybrook Hospital
Curtis Johnston, Department of Critical Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta; Intensive Care Unit, Royal Alexandra Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta
R. Jeremy Katulka, Department of Medicine, Royal University Hospital, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Samuel Marcushamer, Department of Critical Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta; Intensive Care Unit, Royal Alexandra Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta
Kusum Menon, Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, Children’s’ Hospital of Eastern Ontario; Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, Department of Pediatrics, University of Ottawa
Tracey Miller, Intensive Care Unit, Royal Columbian Hospital, New Westminster, British Columbia
Bojan Paunovic, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba; President, Canadian Critical Care Society
Teddie Tanguay, Intensive Care Unit, Royal Alexandra Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta
This report has also been published in the FACETS collection of RSC Policy Briefings. The report is available here.
For further information or for media requests, contact Erika Kujawski at ekujawski@rsc-src.ca.
