CHEO apologizes after errant sign wrongly says emergency room overloaded

A sign outside CHEO early Thursday morning saying the emergency department was overloaded. CHEO said the sign was from a mock disaster response exercise and should not have been displayed. (Viewer photo)

The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario is apologizing after a sign outside the hospital incorrectly said the emergency room was overloaded and directed patients elsewhere.

The sign read “CHEO Emergency is overloaded. Please proceed to The Ottawa Hospital,” and listed a phone number.

However, the sign was from a mock disaster response exercise several years ago and should not have been displayed, a CHEO spokesman said Thursday. The hospital’s emergency department remains open.

“Last night, there was construction being done in one of our parking lots (lot B). A sign that had been placed at the entrance of the lot to advise of where patients should park given the parking lot closure appears to have blown away overnight revealing an old sign that it had been placed on top of,” CHEO spokesman Paddy Moore said in a statement.

That old sign was from the mock disaster exercise which was done several years ago, he said.

“It should have been destroyed and was never intended to be displayed outside of the exercise and without someone on hand to explain to, and guide, families coming to our emergency department for care,” he said.

The incorrect sign was removed at 6:08 a.m. when staff became aware of what had happened, Moore said.

“We apologize for, and regret, any confusion this unfortunate situation caused,” he said. “We are working to make it right with any affected families and our counterparts at the Ottawa Hospital.”

Moore said CHEO is aware of one family that went next door to the Ottawa Hospital General campus for care, and the hospital apologizes for that confusion.

It’s unknown what caused the correct sign to be blown away. Moore said a medivac helicopter took off at 3:12 a.m.; it’s unclear whether that or the wind caused the parking sign to dislodge.

The brief scare comes as some eastern Ontario hospitals have been forced to close or reduce the hours of their emergency departments due to staffing shortages.

The ER at the Perth Hospital has been closed since July 2 amid a COVID-19 outbreak and staffing shortages.

CHEO’s May and June were the busiest on record for its emergency department. However, CHEO remains open for children and youth that need urgent or critical care.

“We sincerely regret any confusion caused and want to assure families that we will always do everything we can to get your kids the care they need,” Moore said.

- with files from Jeremie Charron, CTV News Ottawa