'Code orange' briefly activated at BC Children's Hospital amid patient surge
A hospital emergency code typically reserved for natural disasters and mass casualty events was briefly activated at BC Children's Hospital Saturday morning.
A spokesperson for the Provincial Health Services Authority confirmed to CTV News that a "code orange" was called at the hospital at 6:35 a.m. It was cancelled a little less than 30 minutes later, at 7:03 a.m.
The spokesperson provided no other details on the situation, nor any explanation of why the code was activated, but children's hospitals in B.C. and across Canada have been struggling with high patient volumes during the current respiratory illness season.
A document declaring the code orange that was shared with CTV News gives the reason for the declaration as an "increase in patient census/acuity in (the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) without appropriate resources to manage."
Last month, BC Children's Hospital opened an overflow unit for its emergency room to help manage the large number of patients.
A memo announcing the overflow ER described the department as “mostly seeing viral illnesses, including Enterovirus/Rhinovirus, and now increasing presentations of influenza and RSV, as well as steady COVID-19.”
The surge has also led to the cancellation of pediatric surgeries as the facility's limited ICU beds are occupied by children with serious respiratory illness.
The province has just 21 pediatric intensive care beds, which are located at BCCH, Victoria General and University of Northern BC Hospitals.
Emergency room wait times at BC Children's Hospital have been as high as 12 hours in recent weeks. On Saturday afternoon, waits were considerably shorter, at about two hours and 30 minutes as of 3:30 p.m.
Earlier in the day, however, they had been as long as eight hours.
And BCCH isn't even the busiest pediatric emergency department in B.C. That distinction belongs to Surrey Memorial Hospital, where doctors said last month that they were facing quadruple the number of patients the ER was designed for, and 100 more per day than they saw last year.
“The pediatric ER has been overrun for a while now and we have expanded into the adult side, where right now we're using two treatment beds,” said Dr. Randeep Gill, an emergency physician at SMH.
“We're seeing approximately 250 kids per day during the surge, but it was built for 72 patient visits per day.”
A similar surge in demand for pediatric hospital beds in Alberta recently led to the cancellation of respite services at Rotary Flames House, that province's pediatric hospice. Staff from the facility have been redeployed to assist Alberta Children's Hospital with its high patient volumes.
CTV News contacted Vancouver's Canuck Place Children's Hospice to inquire about whether similar measures were being considered in B.C., but was told that the staffing model is different in this province because Canuck Place is a private hospice.
The facility said no one from BC Children's Hospital or the PHSA has asked it for either additional beds or staff.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Penny Daflos
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.