Ontario pediatric hospitals ask for help to deal with backlog of 12K surgeries
CTV
Nearly 12,000 children are on a wait list for surgeries across Ontario, a situation officials at four major pediatric hospitals say is part of a much bigger problem they need help from the province to solve.
Nearly 12,000 children are on a wait list for surgeries across Ontario, a situation officials at four major pediatric hospitals say is part of a much bigger problem they need help from the province to solve.
A surge of viral respiratory illnesses, driven by a particularly bad strain of the flu and respiratory syncytial virus, overwhelmed the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, McMaster Children's Hospital in Hamilton, the Children's Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre and CHEO, a health care and research facility in Ottawa.
The hospitals say that surge has abated after three difficult months which saw surgeries cancelled and staff redeployed to help out overburdened emergency departments and intensive care units.
But through that time, the surgical wait list continued to grow. About half of the 11,789 children on it are waiting beyond the clinically recommended wait times, which hospitals say is partially due to the respiratory surge and the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The fact that we've now come out of the surge and we're still very strained helps to demonstrate that we really need major investments," said Bruce Squires, president of McMaster Children's Hospital.
The surgical wait list at the hospital sits at 2,332 children, Squires said, adding 69 per cent of those procedures are beyond the clinically recommended wait times. He said more specialized operating room staff, like nurses and anesthesiologists, are needed to address the situation.
Staffing is the main issue preventing the four hospitals from ramping up surgeries.
