In the wake of news that three Ontario children’s hospitals have cancelled surgeries, dozens of parents are sharing their stories about how the onslaught of viruses this fall has affected their families, and question whether enough is being done to address the “crisis” in care.
In recent weeks, the Children’s Hospital in London, Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) in Ottawa announced the cancellation of surgeries┬аto focus on providing┬аcritical care as staff deal with the surge of children with respiratory illnesses.
Morgan Bradnam, 37, of London, Ont., was among the parents who contacted CBC after hearing the London hospital’s announcement earlier this week. The mother of two school-aged sons said that since October, “it’s pretty much been a non-stop revolving door of illnesses.”
Bradnam┬аsaid┬аthe┬аshortage of children’s cold and flu medications┬аhas also been frustrating.
We are looked at as the poster child of health care in the world, yet right now it’s horrific.– Randi Bethke of London, Ont.
“Before I┬аwas able to get my hands on some, we had to go old school┬аand we had to put them [her┬аchildren] in an ice bath to try to break that fever,” said Bradnam, who finally landed some children’s medications after visiting eight different drugstores.
“I do believe in masking and I try sending them [to school]┬аwith┬аmasks, but it’s pretty difficult when they’re going against the grain. It seems a bit futile.”
Our youngest has been sick on and off since mid October. I’m a former pediatric nurse and def feel I’m wearing both mom and nurse hat.
—@RNtherapist
Nash Syed, president of the Children’s Hospital at the London Health Sciences Centre, said this week that the move to cancel surgeries was “an extremely difficult decision and one that I wish we didn’t have to make.”
He added it was “necessary to ensure the hospital’s teams are able to meet critical care and emergency needs.”
“My son had a fever of 106 F┬аlast week. Lasted a week. I was very scared as a mom,”┬аsaid London resident Randi Bethke, a nail technician who has two children.
“What if he has to go to emerg?┬аWill he be able to get the care he needs?”┬а
Bethke, 31,┬аdoesn’t believe governments are┬аdoing enough to keep children safe right now.
“We are looked at as the poster child of health care in the world, yet right now it’s horrific,” she said. “I don’t feel as if they are treating this like the crisis it is.”
Canada in pediatriac crisis
She’s not the only one.
A group of prominent mothers, grandmothers and caregivers that calls itself┬аMoms, Grandmoms, and Caregivers for Kids┬аreleased an open letter Wednesday morning┬аfrom Calgary that’s addressed to the prime minister and premiers.
Members of the group include┬аKathleen Taylor, chair of the Hospital for Sick Children’s┬аboard of trustees, former Ontario premier┬аKathleen Wynne and former MP┬аLisa Raitt, now co-chair of the Coalition for a Better Future.
“This crisis isn’t new,” reads the letter.┬а“Children’s hospitals and advocates have been raising the alarm that an urgent response is needed at the national and provincial levels to bring leadership and action for kids in Canada.
“It should never have gotten this far. Our kids deserve better.”
The group calls on governments to earmark funds for children’s health care and┬аcollect health data about that demographic. It also urges┬аthe government to “implement proven strategies”┬аto curb viral spread, and suggests appointing an ombudsperson for children to┬а“lead us through this crisis and get Canada back to being a world-leading country for kids to grow up in.”
Missing work to care for kids ‘stressful’┬а
Lia De Pauw┬аof Kingston, Ont.,┬аis a mother┬аof two┬аwho works as a mental health promotion specialist at KFL&A Public Health.┬а
She said the number of days of work she’s missed to care for her sick children are mounting.
“We were just off from Nov 2 to 11┬аwith a respiratory bug.
“That was┬аseven┬аunpaid days so far this month,” she added.┬а“I’ve missed around 50┬аdays of work in 2022 to care for my kids, Much of that has been unpaid time.
“It’s been extremely stressful to lose so much income and wonder about impacts on job security as the sole income earner in my family.”
The letter addresses concerns that children are missing school because of a rash of illnesses, and parents staying home to care for their children┬аare losing out on paid work.
CBC News contacted the two major school boards in London to inquire┬аabout the rate of student absenteeism.
A spokesperson for the London District Catholic School Board (LDCSB) said concrete data isn’t immediately available, but there have been no “flags or alerts” to indicate student absences are higher than usual for this time of year.┬а
Cheryl Weedmark of┬аthe┬аThames Valley District School Board (TVDSB)┬аsaid in an email on Monday that the board hasn’t seen an increase in student and staff absences, although it would take time to get specific numbers.
