Healthcare and Medicine

Cool Aids’s new mobile clinic van has been on the roads for about three weeks. (Kiernan Green/News Staff)

Mobile health clinic extends services to Victoria’s vulnerable population

Mobile clinic allowing Cool Aid to engage individuals who have not accessed care for years

 

B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix, left, and Premier John Horgan chat with attendees after the announcement of the creation of primary care networks, targeting people without a family doctor, in May 2018. (Photo courtesy B.C. Government)

Langford couple ‘left high and dry’ in search for a family physician

West Shore centre has matched 3,300 less patients with medical practitioners than promised in 2018

 

Individuals who took Alesse birth control pills between Jan. 1, 2017, and April 30, 2019, could be eligible to take part in a class-action lawsuit against the manufacturers. (Black Press Media files)

B.C. judge certifies class action against manufacturers of Alesse birth control pills

Two plaintiffs came before the court after becoming pregnant despite taking their Alesse birth control pills

 

Paramedic Matthew Schlatter of Victoria is living a fuller life today due to the double lung transplant he received in 2019. He encourages B.C. residents to register as an organ donor and let their families know their wishes. (Instagram/Matthew Schlatter)

Vancouver Island man living a full, active life after double-lung transplant

Matt Schlatter encourages people to register as an organ donor to help others live

Paramedic Matthew Schlatter of Victoria is living a fuller life today due to the double lung transplant he received in 2019. He encourages B.C. residents to register as an organ donor and let their families know their wishes. (Instagram/Matthew Schlatter)
Average response times for critical “purple” and “red” calls were between nine and 10 minutes Feb. 19 in Metro Vancouver, with only less critical “yellow” calls receiving an average response time of 45 minutes. The longer than usual delay was due to a combination of factors, BC Emergency Health Services said. (APBC image)

After a night of one-hour waits for ambulances, union goes public with concerns

B.C. Ambulance Service says high-priority calls were still 10 minutes or less

Average response times for critical “purple” and “red” calls were between nine and 10 minutes Feb. 19 in Metro Vancouver, with only less critical “yellow” calls receiving an average response time of 45 minutes. The longer than usual delay was due to a combination of factors, BC Emergency Health Services said. (APBC image)
A monument was unveiled during a ceremony in Tofino last week honouring Jo-Ann Fuller and Ivan Polivka. The monument will be placed on Hwy. 4 near Kennedy Lake. (Photo courtesy of Ambulance Paramedics and Emergency Dispatchers of BC)

In the line of duty: Remembering two beloved Vancouver Island paramedics

Sombre ceremony held in Tofino to mark 10th anniversary of fatal Kennedy Lake ambulance crash

A monument was unveiled during a ceremony in Tofino last week honouring Jo-Ann Fuller and Ivan Polivka. The monument will be placed on Hwy. 4 near Kennedy Lake. (Photo courtesy of Ambulance Paramedics and Emergency Dispatchers of BC)
Sooke man Rik Downer spent two weeks in the Royal Jubilee Hospital after contracting flesh-eating bacteria. (Nina Grossman/News Staff)

Sooke man’s bumped knee leads to fight for life

Man unknowingly contracts case of rare flesh-eating disease

Sooke man Rik Downer spent two weeks in the Royal Jubilee Hospital after contracting flesh-eating bacteria. (Nina Grossman/News Staff)
Breastfeeding continues to be encouraged during the pandemic, but that doesn’t mean new parents don’t have COVID-19 concerns. Photo: Becky Litz Photography

Breastfeeding during the pandemic: what we know and don’t know

There’s still little research to show if breastmilk transmits COVID-19

Breastfeeding continues to be encouraged during the pandemic, but that doesn’t mean new parents don’t have COVID-19 concerns. Photo: Becky Litz Photography
Laurie Brooks says her experience with psilocybin has helped her with her anxiety and depression after she was diagnosed with cancer for the second time. (Provided by Laurie Brooks)

Greater Victoria non-profit advocates for the use of psilocybin for terminal patients

North Saanich psychotherapist pushes for alternative treatment

Laurie Brooks says her experience with psilocybin has helped her with her anxiety and depression after she was diagnosed with cancer for the second time. (Provided by Laurie Brooks)
For the first time in years, if you ask a family doctor in Sooke if they can take you on as a patient, you actually have a good chance of hearing “yes.” (Pixabay photo)

Need a doctor in Sooke? You may be in luck

In anticipation of recruiting more doctors, medical clinic accepting applications for a waitlist

For the first time in years, if you ask a family doctor in Sooke if they can take you on as a patient, you actually have a good chance of hearing “yes.” (Pixabay photo)
Janice Perrino, Nanaimo and District Hospital Foundation CEO, shows a rendering of the new intensive care unit that will be built on what is currently a parking lot at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. The foundation has launched its most ambitious campaign ever with a goal of $5 million to purchase all medical equipment to outfit the new facility. (Chris Bush/News Bulletin)

Nanaimo hospital foundation kicks off $5-million campaign for new ICU

Foundation’s goal is to purchase all medical equipment to outfit new intensive care unit at NRGH

Janice Perrino, Nanaimo and District Hospital Foundation CEO, shows a rendering of the new intensive care unit that will be built on what is currently a parking lot at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. The foundation has launched its most ambitious campaign ever with a goal of $5 million to purchase all medical equipment to outfit the new facility. (Chris Bush/News Bulletin)
Emergency room visits are down across Greater Victoria hospitals as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. (Black Press Media file photo)

Greater Victoria emergency room visits down 40 per cent during pandemic

Patients afraid of COVID-19 or burdening health care system, says head of emergency medicine

Emergency room visits are down across Greater Victoria hospitals as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. (Black Press Media file photo)
The provincial seniors advocate says long-term care homes like Mountain Lake Seniors Community seen here in Nelson are already prepared to handle any possible outbreak of COVID-19. Photo: Tyler Harper

B.C. care homes well equipped to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks: seniors advocate

Isobel Mackenzie downplays concerns seniors are at risk

The provincial seniors advocate says long-term care homes like Mountain Lake Seniors Community seen here in Nelson are already prepared to handle any possible outbreak of COVID-19. Photo: Tyler Harper
Combining art and science in a medical practice

Combining art and science in a medical practice

Dr. Andrew Dargie works in emergency medicine and medical aesthetics

  • Jan 27, 2020
Combining art and science in a medical practice