Photo From www.albertahealthservices.ca

By Canadian Press

Staff redeployed to deal with surge of patients at Edmonton children’s hospital

Dec 20, 2022 | 2:50 PM

EDMONTON – Alberta Health Services says it’s redeploying staff as the volume of sick children at the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton continues to rise.

Carina Majaesic, medical director at the Stollery, told a media conference today that the hospital has also expanded emergency room and hallway capacity to make room for more beds.

Majaesic did not say how many physicians have been redeployed to the areas of greatest need at the hospital, but numbers are fluctuating with the needs of other areas.

She says a tired and reduced workforce along with the high number of patients with respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, has created the perfect storm.

Alberta Health Services says in a statement that the Stollery pediatric intensive care unit is at about 100 percent capacity but that it has the ability to add additional beds if required.

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It says other potential staffing measures could include mandatory overtime, short-notice schedule changes and cancelled vacations.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 20, 2022

The Canadian Press