The hospital’s chief operating officer sent a memo about the situation to all staff Wednesday afternoon, but neither the public nor patients were told that administrators felt the move was necessary as they “actively prepare to manage an anticipated increase while continuing to to provide our most vital Services.” COO Sarah Bell wrote that while they “continue to face the challenge of balancing staffing levels amid unprecedented volumes,” administrators are so concerned about the strain on pediatric units across the country and around the world, they are establishing an Emergency Operations Center Need and “can call (staff) to show up in a different way, leaning where emerging needs are greatest.” CTV News asked to speak with a senior administrator about the emergency measure and what patients and parents should expect. In response, a hospital communications official sent a brief email asking who else was interviewed for this story, indicating the agency is more focused on the public’s perspective and perception of the facility than explaining whether the level of care would change.
MINISTER IN THE HOT SPOT
Early Thursday afternoon, a Vancouver Coastal Health dashboard of hospital wait times showed waits of nearly four hours to see a doctor at the children’s hospital, but over the weekend, parents confirmed the more than 10-hour wait was accurate. The leader of the BC Green Party put the memo to the health minister, demanding to know how he expected exhausted staff to do more and pointing out that pediatric surgeries are already being cancelled. “There’s nothing worse for a parent than when you need care for your child and it’s not there,” Sonia Furstenau told the Legislature. “What is (the minister) saying to people who can’t take care of themselves, their elders and their children in the health care system right now? The minister did not deny the surgical delays and tried to downplay the emergency response as precautionary. “The member is right, we are preparing for that season as everyone would expect. We did this in 2021. We did this in 2020,” said Adrian Dix. “This was announced and presented to the people of BC two months ago to demonstrate that this preparation is being done, to prepare all health care facilities for what is expected to be … a more challenging flu and COVID-19 season.” Dix had announced that the hospital’s patients would be evicted, most of them elderly, but he discussed no measures for the pediatric facilities.
HOW ARE CHILDREN IN BC?
Sources tell CTV News that the hospital is not only seeing a higher volume of sick children than usual, but the patients are sicker and require more serious medical intervention as a result. In Ontario, hospitals are facing similar issues and are now resorting to sending teenagers to adult hospitals to maintain pediatric facilities for younger children. In BC, there is no indication yet that such drastic measures are required, but activating an emergency operations center is a great practice: it is not a physical facility, but essentially acts as an internal notification layer that requires and allows managers and managers to respond to changing conditions more quickly. “When an EOC is activated at one of our hospitals, it is common and courteous practice to notify staff so they can actively participate in patient-focused solutions,” said Dr. Jana Davidson, Chief Medical Officer of BC Children’s and BC Women’s hospitals in one email. “Knowing, based on past experience and trends already experienced in the southern hemisphere, that the respiratory season can put additional pressure on the health care system, activating an EOC at BC Children’s Hospital is good practice.” He did not address current waits, record patient volumes or the long waits that are becoming more common at the facility.
