CHEO sees 'unprecedented' ER demand as COVID, RSV cases surge

Officials with CHEO, eastern Ontario's children's hospital in Ottawa, are painting a stark picture of its emergency room as they say the last few months have been the busiest in the hospital's history.

"We are dealing now here at CHEO and at children's hospitals across the country with an unprecedented surge in demand," said CHEOPresident and CEO Alex Munterin a virtual media briefing Wednesday.

He said the stretch from May to Septembersaw the busiest monthsin the organization's 50-year history.

The hospital is functioning well over-capacity with pediatric units seeing 134 per cent occupancy while pediatric intensive care sits at 124 per cent.

The emergency departmentaverages 229 patient visits a daywhile it's built for 150, Munter said.

Officials with the hospital are pointing to a surge in flu and COVID-19 cases. As of Tuesday this week, the hospital was caring for eightchildren with COVIDinfections.

There are also about 10 times more patients withrespiratory syncytial virus (RSV) now than before the pandemic, according to Munter. The virus, which disproportionately affects small children, features symptoms includinga fever, runny noseandcoughing, andcan lead to difficulty breathing.

"[Neither] CHEOnor any of our organizations were built for this demand," he said.

Surgeries cancelled, staff redeployed

Munter said the hospital has responded by cancellingsome of its planned surgerieswith only a few going ahead.

"We're very concerned," he said.

Hospital officials have redeployed staff from other departments to its ER and pediatric medicine areas. It also recently received $1.2 million from the province to run its COVID-19 clinics, but Munter said they are currently negotiating for further investments to help the hospitalrespondto emergency care.

The early and increased onset of RSV among children is caused by a variety of factors, saidDr. Anne Pham-Huy, a CHEO pediatrician.

While children normally build a natural immunity to thingslike RSV, pandemic closures over the last two years have meant they had far less exposureto viruses. Now that children are back in school, viruses are starting to recirculate.

"It's like the perfect storm," she said.

Preventative measurescan help

Dr. Chuck Hui, chief of infectious disease, immunology and allergy at the hospital, said hospitals across Ontario and the United States have also seen a rise in RSV cases.

There's currently no vaccines for RSV, said Hui, though that is expected to change in the near future. In the meantime, Hui said there are measures parents can take to prevent illness, which include:

• Staying up to date on your vaccines, including for the flu and COVID-19.
• Staying home when you're sick.
• Coughing into yourelbow.
• Washing yourhands.
• Wearing masks in indoor spaces.

This can prevent and reduce all "viral potpourri we're seeing right now," he said.

CHEO officials said if a child does become sick with RSV, parents should monitor for difficulty breathing, significantly reduced appetite, and fevers that last longer than a few days. If that's the case, that's when they should be brought to the doctor or the emergency room.