Stollery Children’s Hospital redeploys staff as it struggles with surge of patients

Intensive care unit at 100 per cent capacity, but has ability to add beds.

Dennis Kovtun, CBC News Edmonton December 20, 2022

Edmonton’s Stollery Children’s Hospital is experiencing a large and sustained surge of seriously ill patients, Alberta Health Services said Tuesday.

Dr. Carina Majaesic, medical director at the Stollery, said the hospital has declared an emergency provision that allows it to move staff around to redeploy to the areas of greatest need.

Majaesic didn’t say how many physicians are being redeployed.

The hospital’s pediatric intensive care unit is currently at 100 per cent capacity and is bracing for a further increase.

While the hospital prepares for viral waves each winter, Majaesic said this year’s surge has been much larger than had been anticipated.

“We normally prepare for a viral season with surge, but this surge is much bigger than normally,” she said.

“It started out with bigger numbers, and now the numbers are sort of coming down a little bit in terms of the emergency room presentations, but the patients are sicker than they would have been in previous years.”

The patients are also older than would normally be expected, she said.

Majaesic said at first, influenza was driving the viral wave.

“The influenza has kind of peaked and is steady. It’s no longer increasing, but RSV is the one that is increasing at this point in time.”

The hospital is working to identify nursing staff with previous emergency department, critical care and inpatient care experience to increase staffing capacity, AHS said in a news release.

“Identified staff will be deployed to the area of greatest need and where their skill set can be best utilized,” AHS said in the release.

Hospital staff, including medical professionals, may be asked to work extra shifts or ordered to work overtime.

While there is a possibility of cancelling vacations, the hospital will do its best to honour arranged vacation, Majaesic said.

“We have not cancelled vacations for anybody at this point in time and we would try to honour already approved vacations.”

Pediatric doctors and staff have been less directly affected by the pandemic than their counterparts, but many pediatric physicians stepped in to help in the adult units, Majaesic said.

“They worked very hard over the last 2½ years. And now we’re having an onslaught of patients in pediatrics.

“There is always that risk that people will burnout and some people actually would say that already, that they feel really burned out.”

To create further capacity, the intensive-care unit that had been serving adult patients on a temporary basis was brought back into pediatrics. If necessary, the Stollery can double the number of patients per room.

Steve Buick, press secretary to Health Minister Jason Copping, provided a statement to CBC News.

“The reality is that children’s hospitals across Canada are under pressure from an early and severe flu season, and AHS is responding in the same kinds of ways as other health care providers, by freeing up staff to add capacity,” Buick said in the statement.

The government supports AHS in hiring new staff as fast as possible, he said, “and taking any other steps needed to make sure kids get the care they need, with the least disruption possible.”

NDP health critic David Shepherd accused the governing UCP of having “chased health-care workers out of Alberta.”

Buick said pressure on children’s hospitals in the province “has nothing to do with budget or government policy and there is no basis to say it does.

“We’re spending a record health budget, we have record numbers of nurses and other staff working in our hospitals, and AHS is adding more as fast as they can, with our full support.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dennis Kovtun is a journalist with CBC Edmonton, covering a variety of stories in the city. Reach him at dennis.kovtun@cbc.ca

Source CBC News Edmonton

 

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Nurses demand mask mandate to relieve pressure on Alberta’s overwhelmed pediatric hospitals CBC
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Stollery emergency provisions activated, staff redeployed as ICU sits at 100% capacity Global News
Mandatory OT, staff vacation cancellations possible as Stollery sees rush of sick kids CTV News
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