A Nelson, B.C. doctor calling on others in the medical profession to start looking to climate change as the cause of medical conditions suffered due to smoke and heat..In late June, B.C. was under a heatwave, later labelled the hottest and deadliest in Canadian history..Dr. Kyle Merritt, the head of Kootenay Lake Hospital’s emergency room, saw the toll of the extreme heat on numerous patients being admitted, especially those who were already dealing with other health issues, reported the Times Columnist..Merritt met and treated one elderly woman in her 70s. .“She has diabetes. She has some heart failure. … She lives in a trailer, no air conditioning,” says Merritt, of the senior patient..“All of her health problems have all been worsened. And she’s really struggling to stay hydrated.”.As the temperature rose, so did the number of patients arriving at the hospital. In an effort to figure out how to cool people off in the emergency department, Merritt reached out to other doctors and nurses in Prince George, Kamloops, Vancouver and Victoria..Merritt said the response was immediate and roughly 40 doctors and nurses banded together to form Doctors and Nurses for Planetary Health..“I was really quite amazed at how many people have decided to jump in,” said Merritt of the growing number of healthcare workers concerned how climate change was affecting the health of their patients..As the heatwave eventually cleared, it was replaced by a blanket of thick smoke from the many B.C. wildfires that burned through the summer which lead to a spike in respiratory problems for patients..According to a 2021 Health Canada analysis, the impact of air pollution was the highest in B.C. The report showed between 2013 and 2018, the 10 census divisions in Canada with the highest exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) were all found in B.C.’s Interior..The analysis also showed half of those census divisions across the country contained the highest per capita rates of premature death.. “A lot of people in the Kootenays sort of thought that this would be a good place to hide out while the rest of the world falls apart. But it’s, of course, hitting us here just like it’s hitting many places, and we’re really seeing the impacts,” said Merritt..Merritt said although it’s hard to attribute deaths and severe illness to air pollution, B.C. wildfire season changed all that. For the first time in his 10-year career, Merritt wrote the words “climate change” on his patient’s chart..“If we’re not looking at the underlying cause, and we’re just treating the symptoms, we’re just going to keep falling further and further behind,” he told Glacier Media when asked why he did it..Merritt said he was trying to process what he was seeing and hoped other physicians would read his words on the chart and consider connecting patients’ health with that of climate change..The ER doctor also links the effects of smoke and heat beyond physical health stating he saw a number of patients’ symptoms worsen who were suffering from depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder..The effects on children are also a concern for Merritt..“What do you do with your children? You know, I have three kids and they’re inside, it’s summertime, we’ve just got through COVID. And they want to go out and jump on the trampoline. So, I have to try and figure out: Is that safe?”.In the wake of the deadly B.C. summer, more than 150 medical workers rallied at Nelson’s city hall and the provincial legislature in Victoria on November 4 to call on the provincial government to declare an “ecological emergency” and end subsidies to the fossil fuel industry..Melanie Risdon is a reporter with the Western Standard.,.mrisdon@westernstandardonline.com
