Long queues of parents and sick children could be seen leaving the doors of the Alberta Children’s Hospital’s emergency department on Monday and Tuesday.
One parent told Global News that waiting for an emergency for her child was “astounding.” Another parent said they waited five hours in a shorter queue on Wednesday.
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During the update of COVID-19, Health Minister Jason Kopping acknowledged that the hospital system across the province was under duress.
“We see the equivalent of another winter peak in the volume of patients, especially in EMS and emergency departments. In general, the figures remain in line with previous years, but the occupancy of several large sites is well over 100 percent, “said Koping.
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An Alberta health spokesman said the same factors affecting hospitals across the province – high numbers of seriously ill patients, increased demand for hospitalization due to COVID-19 and staff shortages – are also affecting Alberta Children’s Hospital.
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The need to isolate patients with flu-like symptoms eats up much of the hospital’s interior space to allow for safe distancing.
“And while some periods of very high employment are normal, this is not a normal year,” the health minister acknowledged.
Dr. Stephen Friedman, a professor of pediatrics and emergency medicine at Cumming Medical School, also sees no “normal year” in the emergency department.
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“I think we actually see a little bit of a combination of what we were worried about in the autumn of 2020 or the winter of 2020-2021, namely that COVID will reach its peak at the same time as the flu reaches its peak. . like other childhood viral diseases, such as bronchiolitis, “Friedman told Global News.
Although fears of what will happen in hospitals with concurrent waves of COVID-19 and influenza have never been realized, Friedman said removing most pandemic public health measures has created a “perfect storm.”
“What we saw this spring – which is an unusual time – is a late flu outbreak, combined with very high levels of COVID circulating in our community.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Dinah Hinshaw used the weekly briefing on COVID-19 to provide an update on the late arrival of the flu season.
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“We are experiencing an increase in seasonal flu with levels higher than at any time in the last two years,” she said.
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“It’s combined to create a bit of a perfect storm in terms of numbers, volume and sharpness,” Friedman said. “Also combined with the fact that many children haven’t seen many viruses in two or three years, so now they’re more likely to get sick, to be sicker with those viruses.”
The emergency doctor said there was an “obvious” link between the lifting of public health measures and increased circulation of COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses.
This leads to a longer waiting time when parents take their children to the emergency department.
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“The families I saw waited eight or nine hours. “They were incredibly tolerant, understanding and grateful to see them when they saw them,” he said. “But we need families to realize that it may be some time before children with lower performance acuity are evaluated.”
Although Friedman has not seen the data tracked by the AHS breaking the age of patients coming through the emergency department of a children’s hospital, he notes some trends.
“We definitely see more children between the ages of two and five with respiratory illnesses that are worse than we would normally see at this age with this type of illness,” he said.
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Friedman said croup, a disease that usually affects children under the age of two, has occurred in children between the ages of four and seven.
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He also noted that many Alberta children over the age of five have not been vaccinated against COVID-19. According to provincial data, only 49% of children aged 5 to 11 received a single dose, and only 33.8% received two doses.
Children under the age of five are not yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccines, but that may change after Moderna’s application to have Health Canada reconsider their doses for children aged six months to five years.
And although flu immunization is available, Hinshaw acknowledged that there is a wrinkle in that defense.
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“We know that the influenza A virus that is currently circulating is not perfectly matched with the vaccine used this season. We know that in the past, the effectiveness of the flu vaccine has varied from year to year,” she said.
Hinshaw said all the well-known remedies used during the pandemic to prevent the spread of COVID-19 were also effective against the flu, such as proper use of masks and hand washing.
Friedman and an AHS spokesman said hospital staff were doing their best to reduce waiting times.
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“Triage nurses, who are first-line providers and value all children for their sharpness, are doing their best to minimize any delays or tidying up,” Friedman said. “And we really work as a team to optimize our flow and do our best to see the number of children seeking care.”
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In an email, AHS spokesman James Wood said health authorities were working on ways to get all sorts of outside queues indoors.
“Our goal is to make sure everyone is inside and waiting as short as possible,” Wood said. “The sickest patients will always be examined first.”
Friedman also urged parents to seek medical help from their family doctor, if possible, or to call 811 to determine if a trip to the emergency room is really necessary.
– with files from Heather Yourex-West and Lauren Pullen, Global News
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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