Windsor hospital sees surge in children's respiratory illnesses and some medications are in short supply
Chief of pediatrics says some children being moved into neonatal unit for care
Windsor Regional Hospital (WRH) is seeing an influx of children with respiratory illnesses as the region copes with a Canada-wide shortage of antibiotic and pain relief medications for youngsters.
The chief of pediatrics, Dr. Sajit Augustine, said bed capacity has increased from 90 per cent to 120 per cent over the last couple of weeks. There's also a staff shortage, he said.
"These kids, especially in the zero to five-year age group, they present with difficulty with breathing, so much so that they need breathing support and sometimes the breathing support that could be provided on the inpatient wards far exceeds their capabilities," Augustine told CBC News.
Usually, children experiencing this would have to be transferred to intensive care for breathing support, said Augustine, who is also medical director of the neonatal intensive-care unit (NICU) at WRH.
It's hard. You feel so helpless when they're sick ... and there's like, you just feel like there's nothing you can do.- Alyson Hergott, mother
The hospital is now transferring children under two months old to the NICU so that they can receive breathing support, said Augustine.
"We have never done this before. We never had to do this before, but the pressure on the system is so high."
WATCH | Hospital takes new steps to support young kids with respiratory illness:
Last week, local health officials and the province warned of a busier than usual flu season. CBC News reported triple the number of children are going to Ontario emergency departments with respiratory illness, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
Right now, respiratory activity in Windsor-Essex is at an "elevated" level for all age groups compared to last week, according to Ontario's Acute Care Enhanced Surveillance (ACES) database.
The hospital is regularly convening with neighbouring regions to accommodate capacity concerns, said Augustine.
When it comes to treating children, reopening the Paediatric Urgent Medical Assessment (PUMA) clinic may be an option, he said.
PUMA opened in August 2021 for children under age18 and saw more than 10,000 patients before it closed last month.
"Nothing is off the table," said Augustine. "We decided to close it down because the number of visits had started to decline. So we thought it would be prudent to kind of streamline our resources toward areas where it is much needed, and at this time it is mostly needed in the inpatient areas."
Drug shortages another hurdle for hospital, families
When it comes to treating children locally, the hospital is also dealing with a national shortage on the popular antibiotic amoxicillin as well as child pain relievers like Tylenol and Advil.
"Our pharmacists are working around the clock to bring in amoxicillin. We do have some supply at this at this point," said Augustine.
"What we are also doing is if a kid is on amoxicillin, we try to complete that course in the hospital before we discharge them because, well, there's a good chance that if we discharge them, they may not be able to refill their prescription from an outside pharmacy."
Augustine said he's concerned the shortage will have a trickle-down effect for other antibiotic supplies.
Meanwhile, Windsor parents are struggling to find over-the-counter pain relievers for their children.
Resident Alyson Hergott said her three-year-old contracted a bad case of hand-foot-and-mouth disease at preschool and has terribly painful sores in her mouth that make it hard for her to eat and drink. Hergott said she's been unable to find pain relievers locally.
"She's really uncomfortable, honestly, she's got a fever and we're giving her baths to try and break this fever. But I just feel like if you had some Tylenol, she could get some pain relief and help bring the fever down," said Hergott.
"It's hard. You feel so helpless when they're sick ... and you just feel like there's nothing you can do."
Hergott said it's hard for her to drive around to different pharmacies and stores looking for medication, while leaving her three-month-old, who is nursing, at home with her father.
Krista Rann said she's been getting children's pain relievers from Michigan to help her child's teething pain, after local pharmacies were unable to fill her prescription for Tylenol.
"I have the privilege to go [to Michigan] but not everyone can do that," said Rann. "It definitely is an extra expense, gas, toll, time ... but it's something we need. We need medicine for our children to get better."
Pharmacists feeling the pressure
Tim Brady, a local pharmacy owner and chair of the Ontario Pharmacists Association, said the shortage of amoxicillin and children's pain relievers has been difficult on his clients.
He said it's important that parents stay calm and know that antibiotics may not always be suitable.
"A lot of times, there's lots of viruses going on — they'll mimic a cold, but an antibiotic will do nothing for it," said Brady, explaining that physicians won't want to prescribe an antibiotic if it's not needed, especially amid a shortage.
"So I don't want parents to be upset if they go and the doctor doesn't give them something, especially at this time because we have a limited amount."
For parents looking for pain relief, Brady said there are lots of other options, but they should speak to a pharmacist or physician about it.
As for the shortage of the drugs, Brady said governments are working to lower costs for consumers. However, he said it's a difficult issue to solve as the companies that produce the drugs don't want to lose out on profits. Brady added that Canada has lost many drug manufacturers.
"You end up with one source of a medication and then when something happens in that factory, for some reason all of a sudden you don't have any," he said. "We didn't support the Canadian industry. It's now gone overseas. So when you're relying on somebody else, you know you don't know where you're going to land."
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