Health institutions need to catch up as obesity becomes more prevalent
When it comes to caring for Canadians living with obesity, hospitals have a lot of catching up to do.
This was clear even back in 2009, when Marty Enokson was admitted at an Edmonton hospital as he recovered from weight-loss surgery, reported CBC News. Weighing 470 pounds at the time, he asked a nurse if he could go to the bathroom but was told he was “too fat” and “would break their toilet.”
Instead of letting him go, they set up a commode surrounded by four fabric walls in the room he was staying at — which he shared with three other patients. He voiced his concerns repeatedly and was eventually moved to a private room.
“Historically, people with obesity have not been valued,” Mary Forhan, an associate professor at the University of Alberta’s department of occupational therapy, told CBC News. She is conducting research on how Canadian hospitals provide care for obese patients, focusing on issues in acute care, cancer, cardiology and rehabilitation.
“[There are] more and more people living with obesity and coming in for health-care services, but the system doesn't respond as quickly as we need to,” Forhan said.
The need to accommodate obese patients is especially important given the condition’s link to other diseases like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and arthritis. Citing Statistics Canada, CBC News said roughly one in seven Canadians were obese in 2003; that increased to one in five in 2014.
“[F]or the population I care for, critically ill patients, patients are generally larger, and their relative size is bigger than they were in the past,” said critical care specialist Dr. Michael Warner, a 10-year veteran of the intensive care unit at Toronto's Michael Garron Hospital.
Warner said performing diagnostic tests on larger patients can be challenging. That includes imaging machines, most of which are not large enough for obese patients. Even treatment is problematic; he said a lack of obesity research forces doctors to use “clinical intuition” in determining the right dose of medication.
But certain institutions are starting to move forward. Some patient rooms at Michael Garron now have stainless-steel toilets, with larger doorways and bigger, sturdier beds. They also have larger wheelchairs and blood-pressure cuffs. Humber River Hospital, also in Toronto, has similar special-purpose rooms — including one in the maternity unit — as well as larger MRI and CT scanners.
Forhan, meanwhile, trains healthcare workers in a state-of-the-art specialty suite housed at the University of Alberta; it includes ceiling lifts strong enough to safely move obese patients from their beds to the shower and the toilet.
Forhan’s group is also working to draw up best-practice guidelines, which are expected to be available for hospitals early next year.
Related stories:
Study seeks to explain rise in heart attacks among Chinese Canadians
CVD deaths may rise by a third in next decade
This was clear even back in 2009, when Marty Enokson was admitted at an Edmonton hospital as he recovered from weight-loss surgery, reported CBC News. Weighing 470 pounds at the time, he asked a nurse if he could go to the bathroom but was told he was “too fat” and “would break their toilet.”
Instead of letting him go, they set up a commode surrounded by four fabric walls in the room he was staying at — which he shared with three other patients. He voiced his concerns repeatedly and was eventually moved to a private room.
“Historically, people with obesity have not been valued,” Mary Forhan, an associate professor at the University of Alberta’s department of occupational therapy, told CBC News. She is conducting research on how Canadian hospitals provide care for obese patients, focusing on issues in acute care, cancer, cardiology and rehabilitation.
“[There are] more and more people living with obesity and coming in for health-care services, but the system doesn't respond as quickly as we need to,” Forhan said.
The need to accommodate obese patients is especially important given the condition’s link to other diseases like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and arthritis. Citing Statistics Canada, CBC News said roughly one in seven Canadians were obese in 2003; that increased to one in five in 2014.
“[F]or the population I care for, critically ill patients, patients are generally larger, and their relative size is bigger than they were in the past,” said critical care specialist Dr. Michael Warner, a 10-year veteran of the intensive care unit at Toronto's Michael Garron Hospital.
Warner said performing diagnostic tests on larger patients can be challenging. That includes imaging machines, most of which are not large enough for obese patients. Even treatment is problematic; he said a lack of obesity research forces doctors to use “clinical intuition” in determining the right dose of medication.
But certain institutions are starting to move forward. Some patient rooms at Michael Garron now have stainless-steel toilets, with larger doorways and bigger, sturdier beds. They also have larger wheelchairs and blood-pressure cuffs. Humber River Hospital, also in Toronto, has similar special-purpose rooms — including one in the maternity unit — as well as larger MRI and CT scanners.
Forhan, meanwhile, trains healthcare workers in a state-of-the-art specialty suite housed at the University of Alberta; it includes ceiling lifts strong enough to safely move obese patients from their beds to the shower and the toilet.
Forhan’s group is also working to draw up best-practice guidelines, which are expected to be available for hospitals early next year.
Related stories:
Study seeks to explain rise in heart attacks among Chinese Canadians
CVD deaths may rise by a third in next decade
