Toronto SickKids reducing surgeries to preserve ICU space with hospital at capacity
Posted November 11, 2022 4:36 pm.
Last Updated November 11, 2022 8:38 pm.
Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children has been forced to temporarily reduce surgeries to preserve its critical care capacity, with many pediatric hospitals in the province struggling to treat patients.
SickKids hospital in Toronto says starting on Nov. 14, surgical care will focus on emergency, urgent and most time-sensitive cases. A spokesperson at the hospital says families whose scheduled procedures are affected will be contacted.
“This decision was not taken lightly,” says Dr. Ronald Cohn, President and CEO of SickKids. “The reduction in surgical activity will allow us to support areas of the hospital that need help managing increasing patient volumes and acuity, including the critical care units, pediatric medicine and Emergency Department.”
Endoscopy services and image-guided therapy would also prioritize urgent and inpatient cases, the hospital confirmed.
Toronto SickKids says its ICU census has been above 127 per cent capacity for several days, with over half of patients in the ICU, which includes cardiac ICU patients, currently on a ventilator.
This has resulted in healthcare workers at Toronto SickKids supporting colleagues virtually to care for youth patients who would otherwise receive treatment at the pediatric hospital.
The pediatric unit at Mississauga Hospital has also temporarily suspended admissions amid staffing challenges. Patients are being redirected to Credit Valley Hospital. The emergency department at Mississauga Hospital remains open to pediatric patients.
Earlier this week, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa opened a second ICU to deal with an “unprecedented major surge.”
It has cancelled non-urgent surgeries and redeployed staff to meet the demand. Similar situations are affecting the children’s hospital in Hamilton.
RELATED: ‘We’re in an urgent situation’: Health Canada looking at options to stock children’s medications
On Thursday, CityNews obtained data that showed Ontario’s pediatric intensive care units are operating over capacity due to a rapid increase in respiratory illness contracted in children.
The census data revealed that 122 kids were in pediatric ICUs as of Wednesday, up from 111 the day before. Only five children in ICUs have COVID-19. The province has a total of 112 intensive care beds for children.
Statistics from Acute Care Enhanced Surveillance, a real-time Ontario-wide system that monitors hospital registration records, show children and teens are hitting emergency departments at a rate two-to-three times higher than usual this time of year.
Ontario’s paediatric ICUs are over-capacity.
Parents need guidance from our elected and public health officials. pic.twitter.com/d5L0SVeoBL— Michael Warner (@drmwarner) November 10, 2022
The office of health minister Sylvia Jones declined an interview with CityNews this week but issued a statement that said the government is in “constant contact with our pediatric hospitals, Ontario Health, and other health system partners to alleviate critical care pressures and ensure all patients receive the care they need.”
In October, CityNews reported that unprecedented demand has been behind the shortage of children’s pain and fever medications across Canada, such as Advil and Tylenol, due to a rise in respiratory infections.
With files from Liam Casey of The Canadian Press
