Climate change disasters require plans for dialysis patients, experts say

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When flooding hit B.C. in 2021, patients had to be flown by helicopter to receive regular treatment

When catastrophic floods severed a bridge and washed away or closed highways in southern British Columbia, Mitchell Dyck and other patients needing regular life-saving dialysis had to be flown to hospital by helicopter.

While some dialysis patients were put up in hotels, Dyck stayed with his grandparents in Abbotsford until portions of Highway 1 were open to traffic two weeks later. After receiving dialysis for nearly two years, Dyck had a kidney transplant in August 2022 and now takes eight medications, including immunosuppressants and drugs for high blood pressure that he always stocks in case of an emergency.

She said Montreal General Hospital cared for at least 20 extra dialysis patients last summer after Cree Nation communities in northern Quebec were evacuated due to wildfires. “They’re saying, ‘Have a contingency plan, have a communication plan, have a network within your region, so that if you have to accommodate extra patients, you can do it. Have a disaster co-ordinator in each region.’”

“That might mean every health authority is looking at their capacity to take patients,” Thomas said. “We offer that support to the health authorities, which are busy taking care of patients.”

 

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