warned the upcoming summer months could bring “dire consequences” to the country’s ER impacting patient outcomes and provider well-being.
And with the health-care strain comes an increase in potential visits to the emergency room as wildfires continue to put the health of residents at risk due to acute respiratory distress, burns or pneumonia.“Of course, any impacts such as asthma going up will have some impact on emergency rooms and the health-care system,” Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said during the Monday press conference.
“There’s certainly a correlation between fine particle inhalation and lung problems and airway problems such as asthma, chronic obstructive airways disease exacerbations, bronchitis and pneumonia. And although the data is still somewhat mixed, there could also be an impact on your cardiovascular system.”