Ontario patients to be ranked for life-saving care should ICUs become full, documents show
Patients with the greatest chance of survival beyond 12 months should be prioritized for critical care in the event that overwhelmed Ontario hospitals need to begin rationing life-saving treatments, the provincial government said in a document sent to hospitals earlier this month. The province’s triage protocol guidance states that patients should be assessed and placed in a colour-coded framework based on their risk of short-term mortality, which is defined as survival beyond 12 months after the onset of critical illness.