NDP asks province to address overcapacity issues at Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital

The Saskatchewan NDP is asking the provincial government to do something to address recent overcapacity issues at Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital (JPCH) in Saskatoon.

A letter — dated Wednesday, marked “URGENT” and signed by the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s Jonathan Melville — showed the pediatric inpatient ward was at 108 per cent capacity while the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) was at 125 per cent capacity, with 15 children in a 12-bed unit.

It also indicated staffing pressures remain high.

NDP Leader Ryan Meili said the letter is concerning.

“It was really disappointing to hear instead of an acknowledgement from the premier and the (health) minister that this is a serious concern that needs attention,” Meili said, referring to Premier Scott Moe and Health Minister Paul Merriman.

“The premier called it a ‘little challenge.’ And the minister flatly denied the reality, the reality that has been shared by the staff (and) communicated to the staff that these hospitals are overwhelmed.”

However, Merriman called out Meili for what he considered “fear-mongering.”

“We’re trying to make sure that people feel safe at the new children’s hospital. And for him to be fear-mongering … it’s just irresponsible,” Merriman said. “He should know better as a physician and as a community leader.”

In fact, Merriman said as far as he was aware, JPCH is not over capacity and the PICU can “flex” up to 18 beds. The entire children’s hospital can have up to 201 planned beds, and 170 are currently occupied.

He added seasonal respiratory issues occur at this time of year, and some kids need to go in for temporary care.

“There may be some pressures in specific wards where they are at or just slightly over capacity, but we do have the flex within the children’s hospital to be able to move them if need be,” Merriman explained. “So the children’s hospital is not over capacity from the information that I’ve been given.

“If people hear things like ‘It’s over capacity, it’s full,’ then they might not bring their children in that need medical treatment.”

The letter said that, according to the hospital’s surge plan, there are now discussions about “the appropriateness” of continuing with booked surgeries.

It also said on-service inpatient teams will be asked to “restrict admission to only urgent cases, modify management plans to expedite discharge, and to identify patients from outside of Saskatoon to be repatriated to another facility with or without concurrent care in partnership with local providers.”

Meili said Merriman is confused and it demonstrates how he hasn’t spent time working in or visiting health-care facilities.

“You talk about the inpatient ward … already over capacity,” Meili said. “There’s nowhere for those kids to go. He’s talking about beds that are for brand newborn babies or neonatal intensive care units. That’s not a place you can send a full-sized kid to go and get care. It just doesn’t work that way.”

Several requests for an interview or comment from the SHA were made by 650 CKOM. No statement or information was issued before the time of publication.

— With files from 980 CJME’s Lisa Schick