Children’s Hospital resumes admission of out-of-province patients

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This article was published 08/11/2022 (814 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE Children’s Hospital in Winnipeg is again admitting children from Nunavut and northwestern Ontario who need critical care.

The hospital began accepting those patients who likely require a bed in the intensive care unit as of Tuesday.

In August, the hospital suspended out-of-province critical care patients amid when its ICU was swamped.

The policy did not affect children who came to Manitoba for services or care unlikely to result in admission to the pediatric ICU; referrals or transfers to the neonatal ICU; and children facing an immediate threat to life and limb, a Shared Health spokesperson said.

“This resumption of service, which came into effect today after weeks of discussion amongst clinical leaders, comes as pediatric hospitals across the country experience a wave of viral respiratory illnesses that have resulted in unprecedented patient volumes and hospital admissions,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Shared Health said the pediatric ICU had a disproportionate number of patients from out of province in August.

“At the time, the decision to restrict access to Manitoba’s pediatric ICU was made to preserve capacity for Manitoba patients,” the spokesperson said.

“It followed discussion with other jurisdictions that had the capacity at that time to receive patients from Nunavut who would otherwise have come to Manitoba.”

In a memo to health care leadership, Manitoba Health assistant deputy minister Barb Wasilewski said the Children’s Hospital would resume accepting medical and surgical transfers from Nunavut and northwestern Ontario, as well as resume new consultation and follow-up appointments.

— Danielle Da Silva