Alberta's health minister says help is coming for children's hospitals

Alberta Health Minister Jason Copping says help is on the way to deal with strain on the province's two children's hospitals as they deal with a rise in respiratory illnesses.
A surge in patients at Alberta's Children's Hospital prompted Alberta Health Services to redeploy staff to the hospital from a facility that provides respite care for chronically and terminally ill children.
Health officials have said the Calgary hospital and the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton have been operating at or above 100 per cent of their normal capacity during the past month.
"Help is coming,'' Copping said Monday during a news conference on another topic.
"Our system is under strain, there's no doubt about that. This is not just unique to Albertans children's hospital(s). We're seeing impacts across the entire country.''
Children's hospitals across Canada have seen a surge in patients, including those affected by COVID-19, flu and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.
Alberta Health Services, which delivers health care in the province, also set up a heated trailer outside the emergency department at Alberta Children's Hospital last month to help with crowding and weather conditions.
Copping said there are some signs that the situation could soon improve.
"We may be hitting the peak of this current flu that's circulating,'' he said, adding data from schools shows student absentee rates are on a downward trend and wastewater data for COVID-19 shows it's stable.
He said the province is still working to add resources to the health system.
Copping said there's no immediate plan to replicate what's happening in Ontario by postponing pediatric surgeries or bringing in outside agencies to help.
"We are not hearing any of that right now,'' he said.
Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley called the surge in pediatric cases at Alberta children's hospitals alarming.
"These children need our help,'' she said during question period.
Notley then asked Premier Danielle Smith what she would do to prevent pediatric surgeries from being cancelled.
"We already know that the wait in emergency rooms is way too long,'' Smith said in response. "That's part of the reason I appointed Dr. John Cowell as chief administrator (of Alberta Health Services) so we can be making these decisions in a very rapid way.''
Smith said she expects to have something more to say on the issue as early as Tuesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
WATCH LIVE | Biden in State of Union promises to 'finish the job'
U.S. President Joe Biden is using his State of the Union address Tuesday night to call on Republicans to work with him to 'finish the job' of rebuilding the economy and uniting the nation as he seeks to overcome pessimism in the country and navigate political divisions in Washington.

Inflation 'turning the corner' after multiple rate increases: BoC governor
After raising interest rates eight consecutive times, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem told an audience in Quebec City on Tuesday that inflation is showing signs of 'turning the corner' and that the coming year 'will be different.'
PM Trudeau presents premiers $196B health-care funding deal, with $46B in new funding over the next decade
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
Before and after: How Toronto's MARZ uses AI to make motion picture magic
While much of internet is still buzzing about the wonders of ChatGPT, a Toronto-based technology and visual effects company is making its own splash in Hollywood using artificial intelligence.
'Risky' for Ottawa to take strings-attached approach to health-care negotiations: Jean Charest
As negotiations continue between premiers and the federal government, former Quebec premier Jean Charest is criticizing the feds' string-attached approach to health-care funding, stating that Ottawa should not be in the business of operating health-care systems.
A sensor you draw with a pencil could be used for 'smart diapers,' contactless switches and respiratory monitors
We may soon be able to detect humidity levels, respiratory changes or a too-wet diaper, all with a new type of sensor — one created by drawing with a pencil on specially-treated paper.
How more than 100 women realized they may have dated, been deceived by the same man
An Ontario man is being accused of changing his name, profession and life story multiple times to potentially more than 100 women online before leaving some out thousands of dollars.
Texas man jailed in Dallas monkey case says he'd do it again
A 24-year-old man now linked to an unusual string of crimes that kept the Dallas Zoo on the lookout for missing animals told police that after he swiped two monkeys from their enclosure, he took them onto the city's light rail system to make his getaway, court records show.
Balloons and drones among 768 Canadian UFO reports from 2022: researcher
Balloons and drones were among 768 reported UFO sightings in Canada last year, according to Winnipeg-based researcher Chris Rutkowski, who also found that eight per cent of all cases remained unexplained.