'Being pushed to the brink': Alberta Children's Hospital adds beds amid waves of respiratory virus patients

An influx of children sick with respiratory viruses is putting pressure on the Alberta Children's Hospital, which has brought in extra beds to meet the increased demand.

"The wait times in the ER are going to be longer because it's just busy; it's more crowded," said Dr. Sidd Thakore, a pediatrician at the ACH.

"There are no beds available, so you're waiting for discharge to happen, so patients are waiting longer in the ER until they find a bed, and we're finding our ICU is also quite full now, too.

"So, it's kind of everything being pushed to the brink at the present time."

Alberta Health Services (AHS) said a total of 37 overcapacity and surge beds have been added to "proactively address seasonal demand."

The Peter Lougheed Centre is also supporting pediatric capacity, bumping its normal bed count to 18 from 12.

"We're working extra shifts to bring in extra people—two to three physicians a day—to help with the increased demand," said Thakore.

In a statement, AHS said the Alberta Children's Hospital is experiencing an increase in respiratory conditions and admissions that align with seasonal trends.

"The most common virus remains RSV, with admission rates consistent with previous years. As expected during respiratory illness season, we are also seeing a rise in cases of bronchiolitis, asthma, pneumonia and croup."

According to the provincial government's Respiratory Virus Dashboard, between Dec. 8 and 14, there were 94 patients in hospital and 11 in the ICU with RSV.

One person has died from RSV this season.

Health experts said RSV and influenza are driving the capacity crunch, with other seasonal illnesses all hitting at once.

"It's always this combination of multiple pathogens that contribute to the viral season," said Dr. Cora Constantinescu, an infectious diseases specialist.

Constantinescu warns the respiratory virus season may not have peaked yet and urges parents to take extra precautions heading into the holidays, including distancing themselves from people that are sick and increasing hand hygiene.

Children five and under are at higher risk for contracting and having severe outcomes from many respiratory viruses, including RSV.

Many doctors hope to see Alberta include a new preventive medicine and a new vaccine as part of the provincially funded vaccine immunization program to help reduce the number of people who end up in hospital.

Nirsevimab is an injection—not a vaccine—approved by Health Canada last year for infants and provincially funded in Ontario and Quebec but currently unavailable in Alberta.

Alberta's Ministry of Health said it is evaluating options for RSV prevention, including Nirsevimab.

"This evaluation is ongoing in Alberta, just as it is in other provinces and territories, as this product is new and supplies have been limited," it said in a statement.

Another option available in Alberta is Palivizumab (Synagis), but it is only offered to infants considered higher risk.

Health Canada also recently approved a vaccine given to women between 32 and 36 weeks pregnant to pass protection against RSV to their newborns; however, Albertans do have to pay for the vaccine.

Alberta does offer an older version of the vaccine, but patients have to pay out of pocket.

New this year, the province is providing RSV vaccines to residents of continuing care homes and senior supportive living accommodations who are 60 years of age and older and community-dwelling seniors 75 years of age and older.

Albertans not eligible under that program can buy an RSV vaccine at their own cost.

"Decisions on provincially funded vaccines are guided by expert recommendations from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), as well as factors such as supply, cost and the population groups most at risk of severe illness," the Alberta ministry said.

"Alberta Health will continue to assess opportunities to expand access as supply improves and as new evidence becomes available."