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A resurgence in respiratory illness in Manitoba has caused some non-urgent pediatric surgery postponements, health officials say.
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As of Thursday morning, there were 17 patients in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) when the baseline capacity is nine, Shared Health said in a statement.
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Shared Health says a “significant” number of the patients were experiencing complex cases that were further complicated by respiratory illness, including infants and young children.
As a result of the pressure on the PICU, approximately 10 staff are being temporarily reassigned to support that unit. While urgent and life-threatening surgeries will continue to happen, some non-urgent procedures could be postponed. Shared Health said families of affected patients will be contacted.
Shared Health said a mix of respiratory illnesses are circulating in the community and have a more profound effect on young children.
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In the children’s emergency department, patient volumes remain “relatively” stable, Shared Health said.
“However, the number of pediatric patients visiting the ED with influenza-like symptoms has increased in the past two weeks, from a low of 22 on March 18 to 47 yesterday,” a news release reads.
There were 51 patients in the neonatal ICU (NICU) on Thursday morning. The normal capacity is 50.
Health officials are reminding parents that their children should not interact with people experiencing cold-like symptoms. That also includes people who may not know or acknowledge that they are unwell and want to hold or kiss their child.
Shared Health also reported that wait times in the adult emergency department largely remain unchanged in February. There was a small increase in median waits but an improvement in the 90th percentile times.
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Overall median wait times in Winnipeg hospitals were 2.77 hours in February, which was a three-minute increase from January. Ninetieth percentile wait times improved by 21 minutes to 7.17 hours across Winnipeg.
Patient volumes increased in February to a daily average of 750, which was up from 730.4 in January with the median length of stay for patients in emergency or urgent care being 21.77 hours, which is down from 22.5 hours in January.
12.1% of patients were left without being seen, which is down from 13% in January. At the Health Sciences Centre, the left without being seen rate dropped to 23.4% in February compared to 25% in January.
A new $2.9 million minor treatment clinic at HSC aimed at improving the rate of patients leaving without being seen and addressing more non-urgent illnesses or injuries is slated to open this summer.
rstelter@postmedia.com
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Surge of sick children causes non-urgent surgeries to be postponed: Shared Health - Winnipeg Sun
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