Respiratory-related ER visits surge at McMaster Children’s Hospital

A surge of children with symptoms of serious respiratory illnesses has led to a significant increase in emergency room visits at McMaster Children’s Hospital, according to Hamilton Health Sciences.

Dr. April Kam, an emergency physician at the Hamilton children’s hospital, says there has been a steady increase in visits for symptoms associated with the flu, RSV and COVID-19.

The increase is earlier than what has been experienced in past years, says Dr. Kam. This is expected to have an impact on the wait times for those visiting McMaster’s emergency room.

Dr. Kam says steps can be taken to mitigate the spread of these illnesses, including frequent hand washing, staying home from school or work when sick and keeping up to date on all vaccinations.

This comes as HHS says its facilities are routinely operating at or above set capacity limits.

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At this time, Hamilton General Hospital and McMaster Children’s Hospital are both hovering around capacity, at 98 per cent and 95 per cent.

Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre is currently reporting operations at 110 per cent, while Grimsby’s West Lincoln Memorial Hospital nears levels 30 per cent over capacity.

HHS says that due to the current capacity levels, some scheduled care is being deferred to “lessen the pressure” on patient care to meet its standards of patient care.

Wendy Stewart of HHS says that across facilities, surgical activities are currently being performed at 90 per cent of the volume reported prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and that its teams are working to exceed pre-COVID levels in the coming year.

With the winter season fast approaching, HHS has begun conducting weekly update meetings to provide the latest information on rates of illness and capacity within facilities.

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