SickKids to reduce number of surgeries to focus on critical care amid influx of ICU patients | CBC News

Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children says it will reduce the number of surgeries it performs starting on Monday to preserve its ability to provide critical care as it grapples with a spike in respiratory infections.

In a statement on its website on Friday, SickKids said the move will enable the hospital to make urgent, emergency and time sensitive surgeries a priority. Its administration teams will contact families whose scheduled procedures will be affected., the hospital said.

SickKids said it had “no choice” but to make the decision. The hospital said its intensive care unit has been above 127 per cent capacity for several days. More than half of its ICU patients, which includes cardiac ICU patients, are breathing with the help of ventilators, it said.

“This decision was not taken lightly,” Dr. Ronald Cohn, president and CEO of SickKids, said in the statement.

“The reduction in surgical activity will allow us to support areas of the hospital that need help managing increasing patient volumes and acuity, including the critical care units, pediatric medicine and Emergency Department.”

The hospital said “its community partners” have also reached their maximum capacity and it is now supporting doctors virtually to care for pediatric patients who would otherwise receive care at SickKids.

Endoscopy services and image-guided therapy, provided by the hospital, will also make urgent cases and patients already in the hospital a priority, SickKids said.