Guest Editor: Dr. Jim Wright

On the one-year anniversary of the declaration of the state of emergency in Ontario due to COVID-19, March 17, the OMA held a virtual OMATalks event that brought together a panel of esteemed colleagues to share their insights and discuss how we can better prepare for the next pandemic.

As guest editor of this edition of Ontario Medical Review, it is my pleasure to introduce a selection of articles by our expert OMATalks panellists—Dr. Naheed Dosani, Dr. Kieran Moore and Dr. Pamela Liao—as well as my own perspective on how we can apply lessons learned from the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic going forward.

The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 pandemic more than one year ago, setting in motion a difficult year as we battled the pandemic, lost loved ones and lived with the consequences of prolonged lockdowns. At the same time, there has been the almost miraculous feat of developing, approving and beginning to roll out several vaccines.

The pandemic forced Ontario’s medical community to deal with enormous challenges that have been ever changing, such as access to personal protective equipment, overwhelmed hospital resources and caring for the most vulnerable communities who have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Some of those obstacles are addressed by our expert panellists in the following articles inspired from the OMATalks event titled, Planning for the Next Pandemic:

• Dr. Naheed Dosani (Toronto) highlights how the pandemic has exposed cracks in how we care for those who are culturally and socioeconomically disadvantaged. The pandemic unfairly and disproportionately impacted the most vulnerable, such as racialized communities, essential workers and people who experience homelessness. Dr. Dosani shares how we must address these health inequities going forward.
• Dr. Kieran Moore (Kingston) emphasizes how public health needs to be supported but also better organized. Simply put, a strong public health system leads to a strong public health response. Public health was strengthened in the aftermath of SARS. However, lessons were not applied following 2003 and many were relaxed. COVID-19 has taught us we cannot afford to make similar mistakes this time. In the aftermath of the pandemic, we need a coordinated and strong public health system.
• Dr. Pamela Liao (Toronto) focuses on the devastation within the long-term care sector. A radical shift is required to reimagine how we care for the elderly. We also need a serious conversation about palliative care, end-of-life care and where it should happen. People want to die at home, when possible, but death is often a hospital experience.

In my article titled, Three lessons learned from COVID-19, I comment on the role of professional associations and other stakeholders in a pandemic. Organizations like the OMA need to have a stronger and more formal role in the pandemic response. Decision-making needs to be clearer, including who and how decisions are made, with tasks assigned using the skills of the entire health community.

Finally, transparency is paramount. Trust is critical and can only be achieved with candor. There will be another pandemic; it is just a matter of time. I am optimistic that COVID-19 will forever change the field of medicine, that we will learn the lessons from this experience and that we will be better prepared for the next one.

Dr. James Wright is a pediatric orthopedic surgeon leading health system transformation as chief, OMA Economics, Policy and Research. Dr. Wright is the recipient of numerous awards such as the Order of Canada, the Kappa Delta Award of American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, and the inaugural President’s Award from SickKids. He spent most of his career at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, where he served as chief of perioperative services and surgeon-in-chief. Dr. Wright was also was president of the Paediatric Specialties Association and chair of the Pediatric Surgical Chiefs of Canada.