Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary to open heated trailer next to busy ER
A heated trailer outside of the emergency department at the Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary has been dropped off and will be open to patients early next month.
The move comes amid a surge in children suffering from respiratory illness, leading to wait times of up to 18 hours at the hospital earlier this month.
Health officials say in-patient units at both the Alberta Children's Hospital and the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton were at or over 100 per cent of their normal capacity.
"We have seen an early and significant burden of viral infections. It's a combination of RSV, COVID-19, Influenza and just regular cold viruses that are circulating strong and early," said Dr. Eddy Lang, the department head of emergency services in the Calgary Zone.
Lang says a shortage of children's medication is also exacerbating the issue and he believes the children's sickness surge will continue for the next three to six weeks.
"On the pediatric side, it's quite dramatic because we're seeing children with RSV infections who are coming in with critically low oxygen levels that are much more common and frequent than we've ever seen before," Lang said.
AHS says the trailer in Calgary will be used when the emergency department sees surges in patient volume and will be monitored in the same way as the emergency department waiting area.
It calls the additional space "a comfort measure to help with crowding and weather conditions," but notes it won't be used as a primary treatment area.
AHS also confirms it has reached out to health unions about the possibility of requiring overtime and redeploying staff to the children's hospital, if the situation gets worse.
Although the hospital has reached 100 per cent capacity, it can operate beyond that demand at peak rates, AHS says, and the emergency provisions have not been triggered at this point.
Lang says the increase of children needing emergency room care isn't limited to just the children's hospital, with other hospitals seeing demand up by about 15 per cent as well.
"Children are not only coming to see emergency physicians, coming in droves at the children's hospitals. But we're also seeing far more children than we usually do at the non-children's hospitals," he said.
Health officials said in mid-November that the Alberta Children's Hospital emergency department had been seeing more than 300 visits a day, compared to between about 180 and 220 before the latest surge.
"No matter where patients are seen at the hospital site, they will always receive appropriate treatment. We’d like to thank the public for their patience and understanding as our staff work to see and treat patients as efficiently as possible," reads a tweet from AHS posted on Saturday.
School boards, meanwhile, have been asking for more direction as a slew of seasonal respiratory illnesses along with some COVID-19 cases have led to high classroom absentee rates and jammed children's hospitals.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, however, said last week the province is done treating every respiratory season with extreme measures.
Smith defended new rules banning mask mandates for students and ordering schools to provide in-person learning during the current wave of viral illnesses.
Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley responded to news of the trailer with a call for more resources and staff.
"This is a full-on crisis," she said in a tweet.
With files from The Canadian Press.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Train derailed in Sarnia after colliding with a truck
Police are investigating after a transport truck collided with a train in Sarnia.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.