CHEO unveils plan to reduce wait time amidst 'unprecedented pressure'

Occupancy at CHEO hit 124 per cent of capacity on Friday as the regional children’s hospital scrambled to respond to “unprecedented pressure” that has filled its beds, forced it to cancel surgeries and jammed its emergency department for weeks, leaving some young patients waiting more than 48 hours to be admitted.

In a release, the hospital announced a series of measures — partially funded by hospital donors — to respond to the ongoing crisis. The hospital is in talks with the provincial government about more funding, but said it is prepared to defer some clinical equipment purchases, if necessary, in order to hire additional staff.

“Never have we experienced a sustained surge like we have over the last six months,” Alex Munter, CHEO president and CEO, said. “When the need for urgent/emergent care escalates, kids who have been waiting — sometimes too long — for their care often are forced to wait even longer. It’s just not okay. It’s not sustainable. That’s why we are taking action on several fronts.”

CHEO’s emergency department has seen more patients during the past six months than at any time in its history and, with what is expected to be a busy viral and flu season just beginning and new COVID-19 variants on the horizon, there are few signs that things will slow down soon.

In addition, the hospital’s mental health units have been seeing a major surge amid a youth mental health crisis exacerbated by the pandemic. It has been forced to cancel some scheduled surgeries because of a lack of beds, including spinal, heart and neurosurgeries.

“We have a children’s health system that was not built to accommodate a simultaneous surge in demand and acuity and a decrease in access in other parts of the system,” said Munter. “We look forward to working with the Ontario government on long-term solutions to deliver care to a growing number of kids and families across our region.”

The hospital warned families and patients to expect a busy Thanksgiving weekend. Last week, the hospital advised families to bring toys, snacks and blankets should they need to visit the ER.

Among measures, CHEO will:

“We are doing everything we can think of to reduce the length of time that children and their families who come to our emergency department will have to wait.”

The hospital said it is “able to act now” because of a $1.2 million infusion from Ontario Health, which will keep the Kids Come First clinic open, as well as funding from CHEO Foundation donors for other initiatives. It has asked the province for $3.6 million to cover additional expenses until the end of March.

“We will continue to work with government to secure funding to cover the full cost of these measures,” the hospital wrote, but added it will defer some clinical equipment purchases if necessary to hire needed extra staff.

“We know that people trust CHEO with their children’s care — often at the worst, most difficult moments of their lives,” Munter said. “That is a trust we don’t take lightly and know we have to earn every single hour of every day. We are taking action on several fronts to ensure CHEO patients and families receive the timely, world-class care they expect and deserve.”

1. CHEO advising families to bring blankets, toys as emergency wait times grow

2. CHEO 'extremely busy' as viral season hits early, on track to treat record number of emergency patients in September