Health minister calls Ontario child's 40-hour ER wait 'deeply disturbing' but says the issue is 'not new'
News of an Ontario child's 40-hour wait in the emergency room made its way to Queen’s Park Wednesday, but the health minister said the overwhelmed state of hospitals in the province is not a new phenomenon.
“It is obviously deeply disturbing for all of us to hear stories about parents who have to wait with their children as they get admitted, as they are waiting for that bed to open up in the hospitals,” Sylvia Jones said during question period.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
“But I also think it's important for us to understand and appreciate that these are not new issues, and not new problems.”
Jones’ remarks were in response to a question by interim NDP Leader Peter Tabuns, who referenced the incident first reported by CTV News Toronto.
“How many more kids will have to wait long hours for care before this government takes action to relieve the burden on hospitals and ensure our kids get the care that they need,” Tabuns asked Premier Ford – who was absent from question period on Wednesday.
Earlier this month, a four-year-old child with Down syndrome was brought to Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital north of Toronto after coming down with a serious respiratory illness.
The child’s mother, who asked only to be identified as Jasmine, said she spent some 40 hours in the hospital’s emergency room before her daughter was given a bed.
A four-year-old child sleeps in a makeshift bed at Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital in November 2022. (Photos provided)
“Forty hours in the ER was just completely ridiculous for a four year old. It’s unacceptable,” Jasmine told CTV News Toronto in an interview about the wait.
Her daughter was eventually diagnosed with pneumonia and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the latter of which is one of “three major viral threats” currently facing the province’s beleaguered health-care network, the other two being COVID-19 and influenza.
For Jones’ part, she said the current Progressive Conservative government was left “in dire need" of health-care investments when it was elected in 2018.
“We will continue to do what is right and what is needed,” she said.
Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones speaks during question period at Queen's Park on Nov. 23, 2022.
Pediatric hospitals across Ontario have reported being overwhelmed in recent weeks by a crush of sick patients infected with the flu and RSV.
To that end, earlier this month, the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) in Ottawa was forced to open a second pediatric intensive care unit to address the overflow while Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children announced it would limit surgeries in attempt to preserve critical care capacity.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.