Ontario hospitals asked to treat children 14 and up who need ICU care
CBC
The head of Ontario's critical care COVID-19 command centre has asked the province's hospitals that treat adults to also accept children 14 and older in need of intensive care to relieve pressure on pediatric hospitals.
Surgeries may need to be cancelled as a result, Dr. Andrew Baker wrote to hospital CEOs in a memo obtained by The Canadian Press.
Baker said the moves are being made due to the "current and impending surge in pediatric critical care demand."
"It is anticipated that the next two to three months will bring significantly increased demands for pediatric critical care support that will be sustained and characterized by unplanned surges that may occur with very short lead time," Baker wrote in the Wednesday memo.
At Toronto's SickKids Hospital, president and CEO Dr. Ronald Cohn says there's already an unprecedented number of children arriving at the emergency room, some who need to be admitted to regular wards and others who need intensive care.
Cohn told CBC News children are arriving with a number of respiratory conditions — with only a fraction stemming from COVID-19.
"There's no question that the pressure on the healthcare system and specifically the pediatric healthcare system will continue to increase over the next few weeks," he said, pleading with everyone to get their flu shot and COVID-19 booster doses as soon as possible.
Baker also asked hospitals to maximize intensive care capacity to help relieve the burdens on emergency departments.
"The Ontario Critical Care COVID-19 Command Centre is requesting that people aged 14 and over requiring critical care (in the context of a directive or not) are managed in adult critical care beds," Baker wrote.
"There may be some exceptions to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis."
The Minister of Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A number of children's hospitals in Ontario have said recently they are being overwhelmed with children needing intensive care.
There are 107 children in critical care across the province, only four with COVID-19.
Baker wants hospitals to "proactively create and sustain additional capacity in adult critical care."
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