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| The entrance to Prince Rupert Regional Hospital |
One of the side effects of our dedication towards the goals of physical distancing seems to be an avoidance of medical help for other issues beyond the COVID-19 emergency.
Across the province, calls for assistance from the BC Ambulance Service, trips to Emergency wards and even visits to the personal doctors or walk in clinics are said to be down sharply, seemingly out of fear of running into someone with COVID.
Something that has many medical professionals concerned that British Columbians are possibly letting warning signs and needed medical care slide by during this unusual period of time.
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While Northern Health has not released any data yet to reflect the impact on Northern BC Hospitals, they did post some advice to their Social media stream this week to highlight that you should seek out medical assistance should you require it, though to make sure to call ahead if possible.
Earlier this month, Northern Health noted that Prince Rupert area physicians had switched towards a tele-medicine model for local patient appointments, with the areas doctors still accepting appointments though using other measures outside of face to face contact in many instances.
You can also seek out medical advice through the 8-1-1 service in British Columbia.
For more notes related to Northern Health see our archive page here.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
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