B.C. not following Ontario hospital in asking Red Cross for staff help

An Ontario children's hospital recently turned to the Canadian Red Cross for help dealing with "unprecedented volumes" of respiratory illness, but B.C.'s Health Ministry tells CTV News it's not considering such a step in the province. 

Asked Friday whether B.C. could follow the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa in appealing to the Red Cross for assistance, a ministry spokesperson provided a brief emailed response.

"No, this is not being considered," the spokesperson said.

Asked under what circumstances B.C. would make such an appeal, the spokesperson said the ministry and the province's regional health authorities monitor things like capacity "constantly."

"That is why BC Children’s Hospital instituted an Emergency Operations Centre last month," the spokesperson continued.

The ministry did not elaborate further on what, if anything, would have to happen to lead B.C. to seek assistance from the Red Cross.

In its own emailed statement, the charity said it is "not aware of any discussions about hospitals in British Columbia reaching out to the Canadian Red Cross."

Hospitals across Canada have been struggling with a surge in respiratory illness among children in recent weeks.

At CHEO, the Red Cross was expected to provide a "small team of staff," according to chief nursing executive Tammy DiGiovanni.

"This will allow some of our redeployed staff to go back to their regular roles and ensure Team CHEO can provide the safe, world-class care that our patients deserve," DiGiovanni said in an email to CTV News Ottawa.

That hospital has been forced to cancel non-urgent surgeries and procedures, open a second pediatric intensive care unit and redeploy staff from surgical and medical care units.

In Calgary, staff from Rotary Flames House – Alberta's pediatric hospice – have been redeployed to help Alberta Children's Hospital with high patient volumes. 

When CTV News Vancouver asked B.C.'s pediatric hospice – Canuck Place – whether similar measures are being considered here, the facility said its staffing model is different than Alberta's because it's a private hospice.

Canuck Place added that no one from BC Children's Hospital or the Provincial Health Services Authority has asked it for either additional beds or staff. 

While the situation in B.C. is not identical to the situation in Calgary or Ottawa, there are some notable similarities.

Since mid-November, BC Children's Hospital has cancelled surgeries, diverted patients to other facilities, opened an overflow ER and briefly declared a "code orange," a designation typically reserved for natural disasters and mass casualty events.

This week, provincial officials acknowledged that six children had died from influenza in B.C. in recent weeks. Typically, there are only five or six child deaths from influenza recorded annually across the entire country. 

With files from CTV News Ottawa's Josh Pringle and CTV News Vancouver's Penny Daflos