While overall island emergency department visits have increased slightly this fall compared to last, there has been a significant jump in visits by island residents under 18. So far in November, Summerside’s Prince County Hospital has seen 34 percent more patients in that age group. There was a 17 percent jump at Charlottetown’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Health PEI suspects that the fact that COVID-19, influenza and RSV are circulating at the same time is a big reason for the increase. “We know this is our first breathing period [since the start of the pandemic] that we didn’t have an extended mask in the audience. And the flu is here earlier than it usually is,” said Corinne Rowswell, CEO of Health PEI.
“It’s going to get worse before it gets better”
At a press conference in Halifax on Thursday, the chief of pediatrics at IWK Health Center – the Maritime’s dedicated children’s hospital – warned that the next couple of months could be difficult. “Based on what’s going on right now in Ontario and Quebec, in the children’s hospitals there, they’ve all got the flu. We’re just starting to see it in the last week or so here. So it’s going to get worse before it gets better. That’s our concern.” , said Dr. Andrew Lynk. Dr. Andrew Lynk, the president and chief of pediatrics at the IWK Health Center, spoke at a news conference in Halifax on Thursday. He worries that the situation will “get worse before it gets better.” (CBC) Rowswell said PEI has not seen an increase in admissions to any of its pediatric units at QEH or PCH. But with staff and resources “pulled out” across the province and patients already facing long waits in emergency departments, he is worried about the coming weeks. “Of course we’re concerned whenever we have this wave coming our way,” Rowswell said. “The worst case scenario is that we have rolling service disruption because we have staff that are sick or we have too many patients coming into our facility.” That could mean canceling scheduled procedures or surgeries, he said, as is already happening in hospitals hardest hit by the rise in respiratory illnesses.
It requires a mandatory mask
It’s a trend that has led some doctors in other provinces to publicly call for the return of mandatory mask rules. Rowswell said some Health PEI staff have requested the same thing here.
“We have heard from staff who believe the mandatory mask should return, but at this point, they have not been informed by the chief public health office that it will be called,” Rowswell said.
PEI’s Director of Public Health, Dr. Heather Morrison, encourages Islanders to wear a mask, especially when they have cold or flu symptoms or are recovering from an illness.
He also stressed the importance of staying home when sick and getting vaccinated against COVID-19 and the flu.
Corinne Rowswell, CEO of Health PEI, says she is disheartened by the low vaccine uptake among young Islanders and that vaccination and following other public health advice are the best ways to protect the health care system. (Shane Hennessey/CBC)
Rowswell said if islanders are to minimize the impact of this wave of respiratory disease on the health care system, heeding this advice is essential.
“I think people are maybe getting complacent. They’re out when they have symptoms because it’s not COVID-19,” he said. “But it could be the flu which can be just as dangerous for some immunocompromised or very young people.”
Rowswell said she is particularly discouraged by the relatively low vaccine uptake among children. Just 10 percent of islanders under the age of five have received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“I would really encourage our parents to make sure their kids are vaccinated,” she said. “The vaccine is effective and it’s discouraging when you have it available and there’s no uptake.”
