Canadians need to seek emergency care even when in lockdown

Most concerning is that even visits for patients with the most serious conditions — ones that involved heart attacks and strokes, for instance — dropped by about 30 per cent

With COVID-19 cases at alarming levels in many parts of the country, governments and health experts are telling Canadians, more forcefully, to stay home.

The goal, of course, is to reduce the rate of infection, save lives and protect our hospital resources.

This “stay at home” message is being reinforced with headlines about hospital ICUs being at or over capacity — with some having to send patients to other regions for care.

Governments and health officials are working hard to equip Canadians with information around how to prevent the spread of COVID-19. That information is extremely important.

But, along with the focus on staying at home, one simple — yet critical — message is being missed: Canadians who need emergency care should get themselves to the emergency room.

At the Canadian Institute for Health Information, our data from the first wave of the pandemic showed just how important this message is.

In April 2020, 25,000 fewer people were visiting Canada’s ERs every day. That’s about half the usual daily volume our country’s ERs would typically see.

Most concerning is that even visits for patients with the most serious conditions — ones that involved heart attacks and strokes, for instance — dropped by about 30 per cent.

We also saw deaths in our ERs increase, with cardiac events being the most common cause.

What this data makes clear is that many Canadians may have postponed or entirely avoided emergency rooms during the pandemic.

This may have had serious consequences.

When patients did access care, many may have been sicker and needed greater interventions.

Now of course, we can’t pin the entire decrease on ER visits to the “stay at home” urgings from governments and health experts.

We all changed our behaviour at the beginning of the pandemic and beyond — with some playgrounds closed, team sports on hold, and less traffic on the roads, there were likely fewer accidents or injuries.

In parts of Canada, COVID-19 preparations included new approaches — rather than triaging people in the ER, some health systems triaged patients virtually or at the ER door, redirecting those who could receive care elsewhere. This may also have led to a decrease in ER visits. But all these factors alone don’t account for the drastic drop in visits.

Our experience is not unique: according to the U.K.-based Health Foundation, in England, ER visits also dropped by more than 50 per cent in the pandemic’s first wave.

Like in Canada, the foundation said there were several factors driving the drop in visits, but that “the reduction in visits for acute conditions such as stroke and heart attack remain a concern.”

At this important juncture in the pandemic, let’s listen to the data.

It’s showing us that some Canadians potentially avoided the emergency room when they needed it most.

When we consider the valid reasons to leave home, accessing emergency health care should be at the top of the list.