He became president of the hospital in January 2020, leading it to the COVID-19 pandemic and frequently speaking to the media about the pressures it exerted on the hospital sector and its staff. Fairclough ran for office in June in her home state of Etobicoke-Lakeshore. He told CTV News that his departure from St. Mary’s was a difficult decision, but she hopes to shape public policy in the future. CTV’s Krista Simpson spoke to Fairclough about her thoughts on the pandemic and how it led her to explore a career in politics. Here is an excerpt from this interview.
IN THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES OF THE PANDEMIC
LF: “When I really think about the pandemic, I think it was the multiple waves of COVID-19 that we had to go to and each one had something a little different. Each one had a different feature, a different theme that we had to deal with in the hospital. You know, if you think about it last summer, Delta came in very fast and very fast, we were dealing with people who were very, very sick. then the other thing that really stood out for me was to make sure that we would get back to the care that the patients needed… the care that was Delayed.It was very fluid out of necessity.The virus required it.And I just work constantly with team, working in the area, working in different areas, so I can try to respond to that. “ LF: “The other thing that stands out to me is just the impact on people, the impact on people affected by COVID, the impact on health care workers in the hospital and of course the community. This community, I think, was “I’m very supportive of what we’s been doing in terms of implementing public health measures at the time, and that made a difference. We can not underestimate the impact that this has had on everyone’s lives. I was just grateful for that.”
FOR HOW THE LOCAL HOSPITALS COOPERATED
LF: “I think we learned a lot in the first wave when we were trying to figure out the virus. I think there was such a commitment between the hospitals. I’m very grateful to my other hospital leaders because I think we all came together and said, ‘Okay, we have to.’ “I think that was really important. And that kind of collaboration was there all the time, you know, we were really trying to look at all the different choices that we had to make. was it about beds we had to open, or about services we had to reduce to be able to respond, or helped each other – when, you know, if we had too many patients in St. Mary’s and knew our Guelph colleagues were willing You know, the times when Grand River and Cambridge, we ourselves, brought so many patients from GTA to help and work as a system. “So I think such moments really demonstrate the value of having a public system, because we can really be connected to the way we support that response.”
WHAT HEALTH WORKERS NEED NOW
LF: “I think health workers need this ongoing support to be honest with the public to try to reduce the further spread of COVID that some hospitalization may require and… I think a lot of them want to be able to also return by providing the other care, to deal with some of the long waiting lists we have. So allowing them to do that would be worth it. If this virus just left, it would be our best choice, but it is still here. And then I think that, like many of them, it certainly had an impact on their well-being and their mental well-being. So, we have a lot of support that we have created in hospitals to support them on an ongoing basis and I think we will need them for some time. “ LF: “The other thing is that we need people who work in the health sector. Every time someone has to cut back a little bit, he puts pressure on the others who are there. And so, again, we just encourage people… if you can come and you will “If we work then we will definitely appreciate it. But I think we can not expect the same level at which everyone works for so many years without people taking a short break, so I hope. I hope we will see that too.”
WHY CAN BE DIFFERENT DURING THE PANDEMIC
LF: “The aftermath is 20/20. I often look back on the first month of March [2020] when we learned a lot about the virus. If we knew what we knew now. I remember one day we did a test… we did not think you could detect asymptomatic cases through tests. I mean it was such a different time, right? And it was simply because we did not know enough about the virus yet. So things like that ζοντας Introducing masks everywhere in high risk environments very quickly. If we knew what we know now would we do it? I think there were also some times when I can honestly say that I wish we had kept the measures in place for a while and maybe we would not have seen some of the rebounds we have seen on the waves. “I think such decisions.” LF: “I also believe that with each wave we were getting better at responding as a team and learning. And there were also some very positive things like the collaboration we saw in this area in all areas, with technology, with community Climb up to help us design.These were great examples of things you want to keep in mind, not necessarily about what might be different, but about what we need to keep and that’s one of them. “
WITH HER DECISION TO ENTER POLITICS
LF: “I have been thinking about this just because I know the importance of political decisions. I am very interested in public policy and I have worked more closely [the] government in previous roles coming to St. how this policy is defined. I believe that it should be well informed, in a democratic society, of the views we hear in the communities. But there must be a balance of evidence and science to help guide these choices. So I thought that maybe one day I would pursue it, especially since we have seen some reduction in the number of women in politics and in leadership positions in politics, and I feel that the diversity of perspectives is so crucial to good politics. But I think in recent months with the pandemic and some of what I have seen and have seen, the worrying division that seems to be also evolving around some of these options, and of course the conflict elsewhere is the world. Like many who came out of the pandemic, I had a little clarity and a little appeal to say, “Okay, I think it’s time to go and contribute this way.”
