BC Children’s Hospital allows shared rooms to cope with high flu-related admissions
Posted December 11, 2022 10:19 am.
Prompted by the spike in flu-related hospital admissions among youth, the BC Children’s Hospital is now allowing two patients to share rooms usually intended for one, according to an internal memo from the hospital.
The memo addressed to hospital staff noted that while it’s preferable for patients to be in single rooms, two patients may share a single-patient room “when medically appropriate.”
“Like other pediatric hospitals throughout Canada, BC Children’s Hospital is facing an increase in the volume of patients this respiratory illness season. As such, we are faced with needing to accommodate more patients in the space we have.”
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Several factors will be carefully considered before pairing patients, the hospital noted. These include the “level of acuity, how serious the illness is, and risks of nosocomial transmission of infections.”
Similar policies have been put in place in previous years when the number of patients increased during the flu season, the memo noted.
On Nov. 24, the hospital also decided to triage less serious patients from its emergency department to a nearby area due to the surge of people with respiratory illnesses.
The decision comes as the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) confirmed the rise of Influenza and RSV cases, and even deaths this flu season. The situation has been described by Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry as “an unusual season with unusual characteristics,” leading to an “intense” surge in cases.
In a statement Thursday, Henry confirmed reports of at least six flu-related deaths among children – roughly double the two or three deaths typically seen in the province over an entire season, according to figures from the BC Coroners Service.
Extra measures have been implemented throughout the province as a response to the spike in respiratory cases, including “enhanced surveillance” through weekly updates on flu-related deaths among children, and a three-day vaccination blitz encouraging walk-ins that started Friday through Sunday.
