Overburdened Ontario children's hospitals sending kids to Kingston for treatment
Kingston General Hospital is taking in young, very sick patients from across Ontario as children’s hospitals are overloaded.
Jason Hann, the executive vice president of patient care with Kingston Health Sciences Centre, says three patients came in on Monday night alone.
“Certainly something that we haven’t seen before,” he explains. “This is different for us, we do see surges and demands for care for pediatric respiratory illnesses, but not to this level and this early in the fall have we seen this before.”
Hann says most of the patients are under the age of two. Many cases are influenza while some are RSV patients. They are coming from all over Ontario, including from CHEO, the Toronto-area, and even northern Ontario.
“It’s really a result of the demand,” explains Hann. “We’ve seen a significant increase in RSV and flu-type illnesses in the pediatric population much sooner than we would have seen in previous years.”
The hospital has expanded the number of beds it has for children, but Hann says its pediatric critical care ward is already sitting at 200 per cent capacity, while the pediatric ward is at 150 per cent.
This is not the first time Kingston has been the site of patient transfers. It took in COVID-19 patients from other hospitals at the height of the pandemic.
The nearby Brockville General Hospital has also expanded to help CHEO. This is the first time the intensive care unit is prepared to admit kids starting at the age of 14, explains Julie Caffin, the senior Vice President, chief nursing executive.
“Normally we would transfer anybody out that requires the level of ICU care. In today’s situation, we have been asked to consider to admit those who are 14-plus,” she explains.
Caffin says that the general hospital is able to see young patients, but if ICU care were needed, in the past, they would be transferred to another hospital.
She says it’s not clear how long the surge will last, as they’ve been given no official word, but she says the peak could come in January. So far, they haven’t had a patient that young be admitted.
In Kingston, Hann says the hospital is able to keep up with local needs as well.
“We’re working well as a team to make sure that we can provide that care,” he says. “We ask the public to be patient with us as we’re managing the demands for care, but if you need the care and you’re acutely ill you’ll get the care that you need.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.