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Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/er-wait-times-alberta-childrens-hospital-1.6443892
Concerns grow as ER wait times at Alberta's pediatric hospitals balloon
Line to be assessed at triage snaked out the door this week at Alberta Children's Hospital
Jennifer Lee · CBC News · Posted: May 06, 2022 10:02 AM MT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago
Alberta's pediatric emergency rooms are dealing with unusually long wait times, and while health officials say the sickest children are getting care quickly, some front-line health-care workers are worried about patient safety.
Wait times approaching 10 hours have become fairly common in recent weeks at Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary. The United Nurses of Alberta said it's aware of one day when the estimated wait time at the hospital surged to 16 hours.
The Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton is also under serious pressure.
"The past couple of weeks, and in particular the last seven days, have been some of the busiest time periods that I've seen in the 10 years that I've been working at the children's hospital," said Dr. Stephen Freedman, a physician in the ER at Alberta Children's Hospital and professor at the University of Calgary's Cumming School of Medicine...
...According to Freedman, a number of factors have combined to create "a perfect storm" — including high levels of COVID-19 circulating in the community and a late flu season with cases peaking at the same time now that public health measures are gone.
"There are a large number of children coming to the emergency department. A lot of them do need to be there."
According to Freedman, there is also an ongoing surge in kids in mental health crisis and a shortage of beds to treat them. Staffing shortages are also playing a role, as is the ongoing need, due to COVID-19, to wear personal protective equipment, which takes time to put on and take off, he said...
Concerns grow as ER wait times at Alberta's pediatric hospitals balloon
Line to be assessed at triage snaked out the door this week at Alberta Children's Hospital
Jennifer Lee · CBC News · Posted: May 06, 2022 10:02 AM MT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago
Alberta's pediatric emergency rooms are dealing with unusually long wait times, and while health officials say the sickest children are getting care quickly, some front-line health-care workers are worried about patient safety.
Wait times approaching 10 hours have become fairly common in recent weeks at Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary. The United Nurses of Alberta said it's aware of one day when the estimated wait time at the hospital surged to 16 hours.
The Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton is also under serious pressure.
"The past couple of weeks, and in particular the last seven days, have been some of the busiest time periods that I've seen in the 10 years that I've been working at the children's hospital," said Dr. Stephen Freedman, a physician in the ER at Alberta Children's Hospital and professor at the University of Calgary's Cumming School of Medicine...
...According to Freedman, a number of factors have combined to create "a perfect storm" — including high levels of COVID-19 circulating in the community and a late flu season with cases peaking at the same time now that public health measures are gone.
"There are a large number of children coming to the emergency department. A lot of them do need to be there."
According to Freedman, there is also an ongoing surge in kids in mental health crisis and a shortage of beds to treat them. Staffing shortages are also playing a role, as is the ongoing need, due to COVID-19, to wear personal protective equipment, which takes time to put on and take off, he said...
