Actually, I'd be happy to respond.
We have talked extensively of lessons learned from previous issues such as SARS, H1N1, Ebola and MERS, and, quite frankly, I think there are some lessons that have gone unheeded.
One of the major ones is about the consistent lack of surge capacity in our hospitals. We know that a safe occupancy rate is 85%. Most Canadian urban hospitals try, and sometimes fail, to provide decent levels of care at over 110% of capacity, and that's routine. We have suggested to all levels of government that this is something that needs to be taken care of, both from a basic human decency perspective and also for pandemic planning.
Now we are in a situation in which cancer surgeries are being postponed and radiologic investigations are being delayed because hospitals have had to take extraordinary measures to get surge capacity down to a reasonable level, so shame on them.
This is not really the time to point fingers, but this is the one lesson we must learn. These pandemics are not going away. In the last two decades, how many have we faced? This is something that we really must learn.
Is there a role for field hospitals? There is going to have to be, if this becomes more than just a passing thing. I could see a role for the army, particularly in rural communities, where hospitals may rapidly become overwhelmed and field hospitals will be needed. Let's hope that the military and the Canadian Forces medical services are considering an active role in the provision of patient care.