B.C. continues to grapple with rising cases of respiratory illness among children

The B.C. Children's Hospital in Vancouver had another busy weekend, as cases of flu and respiratory illness among children continue to soar across the country.

The estimated wait time to see a doctor was reported to be over 10 hours on Friday and over nine hours on Saturday.

Sarah Bell, the hospital's chief operating officer, said the emergency department continues to experience high volumes and high acuity — when a high number of patients require prolonged attention and care from nursing staff.

On Sunday, the hospital told CBC News that it was not diverting patients and no child needing the highest level of pediatric care would be refused admission.

Bell said parents should only bring children with a respiratory illness to the emergency room if they're having trouble breathing, adding that children who are younger than three months and have a fever and are dehydrated with diarrhea or vomiting should also go to the ER.

"You probably don't need emergency care if your child has a cough, cold, sore throat, the flu, pink eye or an earache," she said.

The hospital said it co-ordinates with the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at the Victoria General Hospital and regional health authorities to balance needed resources and make sure children receive care at the most appropriate location.

Dr. Susan Kuo, a family doctor in Richmond, B.C., says she and her colleagues are getting phone calls from distressed parents every day they're at the office.

"I have never seen this many sick children with respiratory illness — this many sick children period," she said in an interview. "Every family doctor I know, we're working harder than we ever have before."

Kuo says she's especially worried about how difficult it is for children to get a PCR test for COVID-19.

Two of her young sick patients who were showing symptoms of the virus but had tested negative on rapid testing kits at home were told they couldn't get a more reliable, lab-certified test unless they were so ill they needed to be admitted to hospital.

"My diagnosis is based on doing testing and PCR testing is very crucial," said Kuo.

Kuo said she needs to determine if her patients have COVID-19, influenza or RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) so she can prescribe the appropriate treatment.

Chris Brandt is a father to four-year-old twins and says he brought his daughter to B.C. Children's Hospital last week and his son to a hospital in Sechelt on Saturday.