The Hospital for Sick Children says it will halt some surgical procedures to try to “preserve critical care capacity” amid a significant increase in patient volume.
In a statement released late Friday, the hospital said its intensive care unit census has been at least 127 percent above capacity for several days, prompting the move.
The hospital said starting Nov. 14 it will prioritize “urgent, emergency and most urgent surgeries” while canceling other scheduled procedures.
It is unclear how many procedures could be affected by the change. The surgical backlog at SickKids had already nearly doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic, from 3,800 in March 2020 to approximately 5,600 as of last June.
“This decision was not taken lightly. The reduction in surgical activity will allow us to support areas of the hospital that need help managing increased patient volume and acuity, including intensive care units. critical care, pediatric medicine and the emergency department,” said SickKids President and CEO Dr. Ronald Cohn in the statement. “I would like to express my deepest gratitude to everyone at SickKids who is going above and beyond, doing the best they can, for patients and families, and for each other, during this difficult time.”
Children’s hospitals in Ontario have been reporting a significant increase in patient volume due to respiratory viruses so far this fall.
Last week, the commander of Ontario’s Critical Care COVID-19 Command Center urged hospital administrators to admit teenage intensive care patients to adult intensive care units in an attempt to free up capacity.
Ottawa-based Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) also opened a secondary intensive care unit this week using beds temporarily reassigned from its surgical day unit.
In its statement, SickKids said it has already increased the number of “more acute” patients being treated outside the ICU, but is still dealing with capacity issues.
He said he is also increasingly unable to accept new patients from community partners who have also “reached their maximum capacity.”
“We now find ourselves supporting our colleagues virtually to care for pediatric patients who would otherwise receive care at SickKids,” the statement said.
The news that SickKids will limit surgical procedures to try to preserve capacity comes just hours after Trillium Health Partners confirmed that pediatric patients were no longer being admitted to the Mississauga Hospital.
Instead, a spokesman said patients were being redirected to Credit Valley Hospital in an attempt to maximize limited resources.
“By working together in one location, our clinical teams have been able to keep the same number of beds open to support children and families in need,” Keeley Rogers said in a statement sent to CP24. “We want to assure you that this has not diminished access to high-quality care in our community and region. Our Mississauga Hospital emergency department remains open to pediatric patients and, if required admission, arrangements will be made for transfer to CVH for care.”
Meanwhile, in a statement issued Friday morning, NDP health critic France Gélinas called on the Ford government to take action to address a “hospital crisis” that is “getting worse every day.”
“The government must take urgent action to address the distress signals coming out of hospitals, and especially children’s hospitals. We should address the staffing crisis, including the destruction of Bill 124, promote vaccination against COVID and flu and start showing respect for our healthcare professionals,” he said.