SickKids sees surge in non-urgent ER visits as paediatricians refuse in-person checkups
When Rose Chartrand's daughter Livia came down in September with a fever that lasted seven days, Chartrand suspected an ear infection and wanted to get it looked at.
The three-year-old had tested negative for COVID-19, but three different clinics told Chartrand they would not assess her in person due to their COVID-19 protocols.
“I can have a phone interview, but an ear infection, you should look in the ear,” Chartrand told CTV News Toronto. “What if it’s not an ear infection and it’s something else, and you can’t tell over the phone?”
“They just told me to go to the emergency room,” Chartrand said. “I was really angry, if I’m being honest.”
Across the province other parents are finding themselves in similar situations—told by some paediatricians or family doctors that if they want to be seen in-person, they need to go to an urgent care centre, even with a negative COVID-19 test.
Many doctors’ offices have not updated their COVID-19 protocols since the beginning of the pandemic, and although they have been encouraged by the province to consider in-person assessments when requested by the patient, many continue to provide only virtual care. The result has been an increase in visits to some emergency departments across the GTA, even for non-urgent reasons.
“There are a high number of patients that are presenting to our emergency department and it’s not the right place for them to seek care, for their care to be delivered,” Dr. Jason Fischer, the division head of paediatric emergency medicine at the Hospital for Sick Children, told CTV News Toronto.
This past August was one of the busiest in recent years at Sick Kids, he said, when it is typically a quieter month. Nearly 6,000 patients were seen in the emergency department—40 per cent more than the previous August.
Fischer attributes the increase to challenges accessing in-person assessments at primary care providers.
“We know that there are family doctors and paediatricians who are seeing patients in-person, and I think it’s really important for those practices that are not to take time to learn from those who are, how they’ve been able to change their workflows so they can best service their patients,” he said.
Filling emergency departments with non-urgent care requests can quickly strain the system, he said, when it comes to both staffing levels and resources.
The Ministry of Health updated its guidance in July to state that in most cases in-person care can now be provided appropriately, and while virtual care has its place, doctors should consider patient requests for physical assessments.
The Ontario Medical Association’s paediatrics division, meanwhile, has encouraged its members to provide in-person care wherever possible, and has offered advice on how to do so safely.
Maple resident Ayesha Minhas tried to get her two children seen by their family doctor recently—one for a suspected urinary tract infection, and another for a chronic nasal issue—and despite negative COVID-19 tests and no symptoms, was told to take them to an urgent care centre.
“I don’t see why doctors cannot see the kids,” Minhas told CTV News Toronto.
“I was so emotional, I was very frustrated. I said I don’t understand the protocols at this time, it’s 18 months into a pandemic, you are fully vaccinated, I am fully vaccinated, I’m telling you we don’t have COVID-19, and you can see on my chart it’s COVID-19 negative.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
NEW Iconic Canadian song turns 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Prince Harry, Meghan arrive in Nigeria to champion the Invictus Games and meet with wounded soldiers
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, arrived in Nigeria on Friday to champion the Invictus Games, which he founded to aid the rehabilitation of wounded and sick servicemembers and veterans, among them Nigerian soldiers fighting a 14-year war against Islamic extremists.
Countries struggle to draft 'pandemic treaty' to avoid mistakes made during COVID
After the coronavirus pandemic triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions, leaders at the World Health Organization and worldwide vowed to do better in the future. Years later, countries are still struggling to come up with an agreed-upon plan for how the world might respond to the next global outbreak.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Broadcaster and commentator Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.