Days after being killed in a mountain cycling accident, a known intensive care doctor from Edmonton is being remembered for his many contributions as a health professional and a community defender.
Darren Markland, 54, died on Sunday while the Black Mountain Trail network near Nordgg, Alta., About 300 kilometers southwest Edmonton was bicycle.
Doctor at the Royal Alexandra hospital in Edmonton, Markland became known in Alberta for his ideas about the challenges facing the medical care system during the Covid-19 pandemic.
People and organizations from all over Canada have resorted to social networks to share their condolences, including Prime Minister Mark Carney and the mayor of Edmonton, Amarjeet Sohi.
“Deeply saddened by the news about the death of Dr. Darren Markland earlier this week,” Carney wrote in a social media post on Thursday.
“Darren was a tireless defender of patients and health workers in Edmonton and in all Canada. His compassion and dedication strengthened our country.”
Sohi also published about Markland on social networks, noting that the doctor “was more than a healer.”
“He was a champion of kindness, justice, community spirit and a deep appreciation of the nature surrounding our beautiful city.”
Dr. Raiyan Chowdhury, a critical care doctor who worked with Markland for 11 years at the Royal Alexandra hospital, said the death of his colleague is a “mass loss.”
“It was a large part of our unit, a large part of the city [and] A large part of the medical community, “Chowdhury said.
He said Markland was considered a “medical leader” that residents and other doctors admired.
“He simply left such a deep impression on anyone who had the opportunity to work with him,” Chowdhury said.
“His positive energy and his perspective of life was one of the things that really helped our [hospital] The unit crosses the pain and suffering we saw with Covid. ”
A vocal critic during pandemic
Markland became known during the pandemic as a vocal critic of the Alberta government, raising problems regarding the policies and messages that worried him.
He was at the forefront of the medical experts who warned of the provincial government that Alberta hospitals were in danger of being pushed beyond capacity.
Markland was between Hundreds of doctors who signed a letter to the then Prime Minister Jason Kenney, asking for another strict block To stop the propagation of COVID-19 in November 2020.
In 2023, Markland received the Diamond Jubilee Medal Queen Elizabeth II, a “commemorative medal served to honor contributions and significant achievements of Canadians.”
