AHS may redeploy staff to Calgary childrens' hospital

Officials mull options amid a surge in pediatric patients, lengthy wait times

As Alberta Health Services prepares to open a heated trailer outside the Alberta Children's Hospital as an overflow waiting area for its strained emergency department, the health authority says it's also considering redeploying staff to the Calgary hospital.

An extended surge in pediatric patients has led to soaring wait times at Alberta's children's hospitals, as several respiratory viruses circulate broadly among youth.

That's led AHS to begin preliminary discussions with unions representing health staff about the potential triggering of emergency provisions to redeploy staff to Alberta Children's Hospital. Those provisions were last used amid a hospital crush during the COVID -19 pandemic.

“Staff and physicians have been amazing over the past many months and years by stepping up and filling shifts and working extra hours to deliver care. We are working closely with our union partners to help in redeploying staff if and when needed to meet the care needs of this vulnerable population,” the health authority said in a statement Monday.

“These measures are taken only as a last but necessary step to ensure we can continue to provide quality care to our patients.”

A rapid start to this year's influenza season with a particularly virulent strain is contributing to the surge in children needing emergency department care and hospital stays, as is the continued spread of both COVID -19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections.

Flu cases are rising steeply in Alberta, with 12 deaths logged this season through Nov. 19, including two children.

At Alberta Children's Hospital, that's translated to a 20- to 30-percent increase in daily emergency department visits. Both that site and Edmonton's Stollery Children's Hospital were at or above 100-per-cent capacity on Friday, and their pediatric intensive-care units are nearing 100 per cent of normal capacity. AHS said they are able to accommodate patients over the 100-per-cent capacity during peak times.

As of Monday afternoon, both cities' children's hospitals had emergency wait times of about 3½ hours. Wait times at the Calgary hospital have exceeded 12 hours at points this month.

On Saturday, AHS placed the trailer outside the Calgary hospital's emergency department, meant to serve as an overflow waiting area to reduce crowding during peak times. Officials said it would not be used as a primary treatment area. It's expected to be operational in early December.

The trailer will be monitored in the same way as the emergency waiting area inside the hospital, AHS said. They did not say how many patients the trailer can accommodate.

“No matter where a patient is seen at the hospital site, they will always receive the appropriate treatment,” AHS said. “All patients are triaged on arrival at the emergency department and are prioritized depending on the urgency of their condition or injury. Any critically sick or injured child is seen promptly.”

Opposition NDP health critic David Shepherd charged the UCP government is failing to reduce health system pressures.

“(They) haven't taken substantive action to actually address the problem, whether that's the critical staffing shortage that's caused the wait to be so large, or taking any steps whatever to mitigate this wave,” Shepherd said.

The trailer outside the Alberta Children's Hospital serves as a stark symbol of the heavy strain on health-care staff, argued Chris Gallaway with Friends of Medicare. “The trailer is a very strong visual indicator of what's happening in our health-care system. We're in a staffing crisis that the government is not addressing,” said Gallaway, executive director of the health advocacy group.

“This is an urgent situation. We need urgent action.”

AHS said other measures are being implemented at the Alberta Children's Hospital to ease pressure from the spike in patients.

A “fast-track area” at the hospital was set up to treat emergency patients with less serious conditions. There are also plans to open a six-bed, 24-hour observation unit on the hospital's third floor, open discharge areas in the in-patient unit and add capacity to the pediatric followup clinic.

Surgeries at Alberta Children's Hospital and the Stollery have continued, with no reductions planned.