A flu season that started early, hospitalized far more children than usual and overwhelmed emergency departments has revealed that Canada's health-care system is chronically underfunded when it comes to the most vulnerable citizens, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist says.
Dr. Jesse Papenburg, who works at Montreal Children's Hospital, said a system that was already struggling with a surge of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, on the heels of COVID-19 is now overwhelmed in much of the country.
"Certainly, Ontario and Alberta in particular have been hit very hard with an early and really quite explosive influenza season in pediatrics when it comes to more severe disease requiring complex hospitalization. And we're also observing in Montreal as well that our influenza admissions are really starting to pick up," he said.
The last week of November saw the highest number of pediatric hospitalizations for a single week in the past decade, said Papenburg, who is also an investigator for IMPACT, a program that monitors hospitalizations for vaccine-preventable diseases at 12 children's hospitals across the country.
A typical flu season sees about 1,000 kids admitted to hospital. Due to pandemic public health measures, he said last season saw only 400 and there were none the season before that.
Up to the end of November, over 700 children had been hospitalized with the H3N2 strain of the flu, which typically takes a toll on older adults.
But the season could continue until March or April, Papenburg said of the unexpected epidemic.
"When you're already stretched to the limit under normal circumstances and there's something exceptional that takes place, it really has a greater impact on the type of care that we can deliver to Canadian children," he said. "It's unacceptable, in my view, that this is happening, that we are having to delay important surgeries for children because we need those resources for dealing with acute respiratory infections."
While the number of RSV hospitalizations is stabilizing, there's still a "significant burden of disease requiring complex hospitalization," he said of the Montreal hospital.
Alex Munter, president of Ottawa pediatric hospital CHEO, said the Red Cross will be helping take some of the pressure off critical-care staff starting this week.
He said two teams of nine people will work rotating overnight shifts and that some will be porters while others get supplies or sit with patients.
"Having these Red Cross teams on-site will allow us to send back redeployed staff to their home base," he said.
"The test positivity rate last week for flu was 30 per cent compared to 10 per cent at the end of October. That's a big increase and it's still climbing so flu hospitalizations are increasing and RSV is plateauing," Munter said.
CHEO, including its emergency department and urgent care clinic, is also getting help from pediatricians, family doctors and nurses in the community while some patients are being transferred to adult hospitals, Munter said.
"We can't run our hospital this way in perpetuity. I think the moral of the story here is that we have undersized child and youth health system in Canada."
SickKids in Toronto continues to see high patient volumes in the pediatric intensive care unit and since November has reduced the number of surgeries so staff can be redeployed to provide care in that unit.
"We have been co-ordinating closely with other hospital partners that have the ability to care for some pediatric patients," the hospital said in a statement, adding it is not currently seeking staffing support from external organizations.
Dr. Shazma Mithani, an emergency room doctor at both the Stollery Children's Hospital and Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton, said a temporary closure of a pediatric hospice in Calgary is "tragic" as staff are being diverted to a children's hospital.
"It means that kids who are dying are not getting the palliative and comfort care that they deserve and need, and that acute care is taking priority over that," Mithani said.
Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos has said Ottawa recently gave provinces an additional $2 billion as calls grow for both levels of government to do more to help hospitals facing unprecedented challenges.
Mithani said funding has to be targeted for children's hospitals and could also go to staffing after-hours clinics, for example.
She said people planning large indoor gatherings over Christmas and for New Year's Eve should consider scaling back, while schools should transition to temporary online learning if they have a large number of viral illnesses
Health officials also need to make a concerted effort to educate the public on the importance of vaccination amid misinformation on social media, Mithani said.
"The most vulnerable people in our society are suffering as a result of the decisions that adults made. That's what's happening here, that kids are suffering from the poor decisions of adult decision-makers who can't seem to do the right thing in order to protect our kids."
With files from Jordon Omstead in Toronto
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2022.
This story is produced with the financial assistance of The Canadian Medical Association. It has no say in editorial choices.
The Department of National Defence says Canada is working with the United States to protect sensitive information from foreign intelligence threats after a high-altitude surveillance balloon was detected.
Magic mushroom dispensaries are popping up in cities across Canada, with customers ranging from those looking for treatment for depression or PTSD to people wanting to 'micro-dose' a small amount of psilocybin, the hallucinogenic compound in magic mushrooms. But while the situation is in some ways reminiscent of when cannabis retailers set up shop before marijuana was legalized in 2018, Health Canada says there are no plans to legalize or decriminalize psilocybin products.
Hundreds of customers who scan QR codes for restaurant menus across Canada are being surprised by secret menus instead, revealing the hidden costs behind the food they eat.
With the anniversary of Ukraine's invasion by Russia around the corner, CTV News sat down with a Russian warfare expert to discuss how he sees the conflict playing out and what happens next.
According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, as of Thursday morning there were extreme cold or winter storm warnings active from coast to coast, with the harshest extreme cold warnings stretching from northern Alberta all the way to Nova Scotia.
One of Saskatchewan’s oldest hockey rinks has garnered national attention for its unique features and unusual design.
A paramedic signing off for duty for the last time got choked up and teary-eyed during his final radio call to colleagues.
Quebec is changing its vaccine strategy: public health officials are now recommending booster shots only for vulnerable people who have never had COVID-19.
Paid subscriptions to on-demand care are among the many strategies primary health-care providers in Ontario are adopting in order to meet increased demand for access to doctors in the past year, while also managing staffing shortages.
The Department of National Defence says Canada is working with the United States to protect sensitive information from foreign intelligence threats after a high-altitude surveillance balloon was detected.
Magic mushroom dispensaries are popping up in cities across Canada, with customers ranging from those looking for treatment for depression or PTSD to people wanting to 'micro-dose' a small amount of psilocybin, the hallucinogenic compound in magic mushrooms. But while the situation is in some ways reminiscent of when cannabis retailers set up shop before marijuana was legalized in 2018, Health Canada says there are no plans to legalize or decriminalize psilocybin products.
According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, as of Thursday morning there were extreme cold or winter storm warnings active from coast to coast, with the harshest extreme cold warnings stretching from northern Alberta all the way to Nova Scotia.
Hundreds of customers who scan QR codes for restaurant menus across Canada are being surprised by secret menus instead, revealing the hidden costs behind the food they eat.
A Manitoba judge is being asked to decide whether Premier Heather Stefanson violated conflict of interest rules, as alleged by the leader of Manitoba's Liberal Party.
On CTVNews.ca and YouTube: Health journalist Avis Favaro joins our Trend Line podcast, for an in-depth episode dedicated to the growing crises facing the Canadian health-care system.
The U.S. is tracking a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that has been spotted over U.S. airspace for a couple days, but the Pentagon decided not to shoot it down due to risks of harm for people on the ground, officials said Thursday.
With the anniversary of Ukraine's invasion by Russia around the corner, CTV News sat down with a Russian warfare expert to discuss how he sees the conflict playing out and what happens next.
A former commander of Russia's Wagner mercenary group who fled to Norway told Reuters he wanted to apologize for fighting in Ukraine and was speaking out to bring the perpetrators of crimes to justice.
A 'high chance' of a mass shooting in Hollywood was thwarted Tuesday by police seizing a cache of guns and ammunition in a high-rise apartment where several rifles were pointed toward a nearby park, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
A Brazilian magazine on Thursday released audio of a senator claiming then President Jair Bolsonaro sought help in a plot to annul the October elections and keep himself in power.
U.S. President Joe Biden is a man who writes down his thoughts. And some of those handwritten musings over his decades of public service are now a part of a special counsel's investigation into the handling of classified documents.
Health Canada is 'exploring' whether a federal policy that restricts gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada should change, after CTV News exclusively reported on Wednesday that a gay man is taking the federal government to court over it.
Big tech companies that offer online streaming services could soon be required to contribute to Canadian content as a controversial Liberal bill gets one step closer to becoming law.
People arriving on flights to Canada from China, Hong Kong and Macao will have to do a COVID-19 test before they board for another two months, after Canada announced it would renew border restrictions on air travel from those areas Thursday.
On CTVNews.ca and YouTube: Health journalist Avis Favaro joins our Trend Line podcast, for an in-depth episode dedicated to the growing crises facing the Canadian health-care system.
Ontario fully supports the federal government's push to make health-care funding contingent on data reporting, the province said Thursday as it announced a plan to boost access to primary care doctors.
Paid subscriptions to on-demand care are among the many strategies primary health-care providers in Ontario are adopting in order to meet increased demand for access to doctors in the past year, while also managing staffing shortages.
After a tiny radioactive capsule went missing in the Australian outback, an expert in Canada says the likelihood of the same happening in this country is unlikely, given our strong regulations governing the handling of radioactive materials.
Chinese scientists have successfully cloned three 'super cows' that can produce an unusually high amount of milk, state media reported, hailing it as a breakthrough for China's dairy industry to reduce its dependence on imported breeds.
An archeological team from Saint Mary's University will travel to France this summer to use ground-penetrating radar and other technology to assist a United States defence agency recover and identify military personnel missing since the Second World War.
A former 'Dances With Wolves' actor accused of sexually abusing Indigenous girls and leading a cult must remain held without bail until his next court hearing, a judge ordered Thursday morning.
A new queer film about to debut in Toronto focuses on the positive representation of younger people who are confident in their sexuality.
When the opera 'La Flambeau' premieres next week in Montreal, Black performers will be front and centre in an artistic medium where they have historically been under-represented.
Nestle Canada says it is winding down its frozen meals and pizza business in Canada over the next six months. The four brands that will no longer be sold in the freezer aisle at Canadian grocery stores are Delissio, Stouffer's, Lean Cuisine and Life Cuisine.
Canada's main stock index shored itself up against losses in the energy sector for the second day in a row, while U.S. markets were mixed.
Higher grocery prices are expected to hit stores across Canada soon as a blackout on price increases over the holiday season comes to an end.
Whether looking for love or a casual encounter, 3 in 10 U.S. adults say they have used a dating site or app -- with mixed experiences, according to a Pew Research Center study out Thursday.
As Black History Month gets underway, Canada Post has unveiled a new stamp honouring Chloe Cooley, a young Black woman who was known to challenge her enslavement in the late 18th century.
As the most romantic day of the year approaches, Canada's 100 most romantic restaurants for 2023 have been revealed for those who might consider booking a table for Valentine's Day dinner.
A former captain of Canada's women's soccer team is calling for the federal government to launch a full judicial inquiry into abuse in sports across the country.
One of Saskatchewan’s oldest hockey rinks has garnered national attention for its unique features and unusual design.
A group of boys who fled the war in Ukraine arrived in Quebec City Wednesday for a hockey tournament that brings players together from around the world.
A good winter tire will always outperform an all-season tire in snowy, icy driving conditions and be the safer alternative. Edmunds' experts explain the importance of winter tires and offer advice on when to use them and how much you should pay.
The U.S. Justice Department has requested documents from Tesla related to its Autopilot and 'Full Self-Driving' features, according to a regulatory filing.
Europe is taking another big step toward cutting its energy ties with Russia, banning imports of diesel fuel and other products made from crude oil in Russian refineries. The European Union ban takes effect Feb. 5 following its embargo on coal and most oil from Russia.
