Dr. Dietrich

Colin Beckingham | Jan 06, 2021

Dr. Dietrich's open letter to MPP Hillier presents a different viewpoint on: the severity of the disease, interpretation of statistics and the effectiveness of tests. Each side calls upon cherry picked facts to support their own confirmation bias, but the result is somewhere in the middle so we do end up with compromise. In the final analysis Premier Ford must balance his best decision on lockdowns based on the capacity of the health system to cope with the expected influx of cases and the future economic state of the province.

In an ideal world, the health system would be expanded to suit the demand and contracted when the demand declines. But clearly Mr. Ford finds that the system cannot be expanded quickly enough, with the result that the existing health personnel are finding it very difficult to cope with the burden our sick are placing on them, a burden that must be as much acute as it is chronic. So we are locked down again - a tourniquet on the broader economic system. As is well known, a tourniquet cannot be tight, or we lose the limb due to deprivation of oxygenated blood.

It would be very interesting to see Dr. Dietrich's thoughts on just why the system is so inflexible - do we not have locations which can be turned to temporary hospital use and willing hands to be quickly trained to complete essential tasks to alleviate the burden on health staff?

Viewed from a distance this current virus event is not only an immediate problem, but also a learning experience for what must be done the next time a similar event occurs - a stress test for our health system.

Colin Beckingham