Doug Ford’s government under fire after Red Cross asked to help at children’s hospital
The Ontario government is under fire for not providing the health-care system with proper resources after the Red Cross agreed to help a major Ottawa hospital handle a massive surge of children with respiratory viruses.
Calling in the Red Cross to help in our hospitals should never have to happen," interim New Democrat Leader Peter Tabuns said Monday in the legislature following revelations the agency will supply support teams to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO).
It's a chilling indictment of this government's management," Dr. Adil Shamji, an emergency room physician and Liberal MPP for Don Valley East, told a news conference.
The teams will allow the hospital - which opened a second intensive care unit last month, cancelled surgeries and transferred older teen patients to adult hospitals - to return some staff to their regular roles as doctors and nurses to cope with a wave of children seriously ill with the flu, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) and COVID-19, CHEO officials said in a statement.
Standing in for Health Minister Sylvia Jones in the daily question period, MPP Robin Martin (Eglinton-Lawrence) suggested help from the Red Cross was part of the plan.
Now they need a little extra help, and they have asked a small team to come in temporarily from Red Cross to assist them with the second pediatric ICU, but that was certainly part of our planning to make sure we had the care we need for pediatric patients at CHEO and other pediatric hospitals," said Martin, parliamentary assistant to Jones.
Premier Doug Ford said the province appreciates the help from the agency.
I want to thank the Red Cross for helping out on the administration side to free up our front-line health-care workers," he told reporters at an electric vehicle announcement in Ingersoll, near London.
But opposition parties said a major children's hospital should not have to rely on an aid from an agency better known for assistance during hurricanes and floods.
It's absolutely incredible to me that we're calling in an organization that deals in humanitarian disasters to help out," said interim Liberal Leader John Fraser, whose Ottawa South riding includes CHEO.
And then to hear the government say this morning it's part of their plan. Here's the reality: this government is disconnected."
Shamji said the Ford government has not been doing enough to promote COVID and flu vaccinations in children, which remain at underwhelming" levels. There is no vaccine for RSV, although one is in development.
We need to be pulling out every tool in the tool box to minimize the impact of every one of these three viruses," he added. They are creating a significant burden on our pediatric hospitals."
To date, CHEO appears to be the only one requiring help from the Red Cross, although the McMaster Children's Hospital at Hamilton Health Sciences said Monday it is exploring all options ... and potentially external opportunities if this should be required" as emergency room wait times approach 12 to 13 hours.
We continue to see high volumes with a predominance of RSV and influenza cases - we are even seeing children/youth with co-infections of more than one virus and some have required hospitalization," spokeswoman Wendy Stewart said.
Both the Children's Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre and the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto said they are not seeking assistance from external organizations, although demand for care remains high.
SickKids continues to see high patient volumes in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and has reduced surgical activity so staff can be redeployed to provide care in the PICU. This reduction started on Nov. 14 and continues to be in effect," a statement said.
Rob Ferguson is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @robferguson1