Pediatric ER patients face long wait times in Edmonton, Calgary

Alberta doctors are reporting lengthy wait times for pediatric patients at emergency departments in Calgary and Edmonton.

Dr. Shazma Mithani, an emergency physician who spends part of her work weeks at Edmonton's Stollery Children's Hospital, said waits at that emergency department in recent days are “unprecedented.”

She said one major sign the department is overwhelmed is that staff sometimes haven't been able to clear out the waiting room overnight. That means the department is already starting on the back foot to begin the day.

“Patients tend to stop coming overnight, so you can catch up and see all those people without more people coming in. And that's basically a non-existent thing anymore,” Mithani said Thursday.

“When I went to my 9 a.m. shift at the Stollery ( Wednesday), there was already 20 kids in the waiting room, which is unheard of . ... If you start with that, there's really no catching up.”

Mithani said it's not uncommon for her to see patients who have been waiting for six or more hours.

“It's just terrible for the kids and for the parents who have been waiting so long to have their child checked out because they're worried about them,” she said.

Alberta Health Services said Thursday the wait times at both the Stollery and the Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary are sometimes reaching peak levels seen during wintertime.

They said a high volume of “seriously ill patients” is a factor, as well as continued COVID-19 effects, which include staff absences and limited admission to some hospital units due to infection control requirements.

At the Alberta Children's Hospital, that includes temporary lineups of children with influenza-like symptoms outside emergency room doors.

“When a lineup does occur, nurses are monitoring the queue and the waiting room to ensure that no patient is in critical condition,” AHS spokesman James Wood said in a statement. “We are working on a system to bring the outside queue to the inside of the building. Our goal is to ensure all people are inside and waiting as short a time possible.”

Dr. Stephen Freedman, a Cumming School of Medicine pediatrics and emergency medicine professor, said more children are presenting with a higher acuity of illness, leading to the long wait times. He described an “imperfect storm” factoring into that, with high rates of COVID-19 coupling with an unseasonably late influenza season. He said it also takes longer to see each patient now compared to before the pandemic due to PPE protocols.

Despite the challenges, Freedman said he has found families are understanding about the waits. “I've not actually had any concern expressed to me by families of prolonged wait times.”

Despite the lengthy wait times, Dr. Eddy Lang said Albertans will be evaluated by triage nurses as they arrive at emergency departments, meaning those in critical need of care will receive attention quickly. He said the ongoing strain particularly affects patients lower on the triage priority.