But when she tried to make an appointment at her son’s clinic in August, she was told the earliest she could make an appointment was November, she said.
“[The secretary] He basically said people are waiting three to six months for an appointment,” he told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview Thursday. “Their excuse for everything that’s going on is COVID.”
Botelho is one of several parents who have written to CTVNews.ca about their difficulties booking doctor’s appointments for their children in recent months. Emailed responses have not all been independently verified.
An increase in cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) among children is leaving pediatric hospitals across Canada overwhelmed by the influx of new patients. In addition to RSV, outbreaks of COVID-19 and influenza are also contributing to an increase in viral infections in hospitals, resulting in what experts call a “polydemic.”
That prompted federal health officials to urge Canadians to wear face masks while indoors. During a COVID-19 briefing on Thursday, Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, said multiple layers of protection will be critical to reducing the impact of a drop in hospital cases of COVID-19, RSV and influenza .
The rise in cases of RSV and influenza in children across the country is “putting extreme pressure on both children’s hospitals and health care providers in the community,” the Canadian Pediatric Society (CPS) wrote in a statement to CTVNews.ca in November. 14.
“Unfortunately, this means waiting times are getting longer,” the statement said.
Despite the difficult conditions, CPS said pediatricians are working hard to continue providing care to patients.
“While we cannot speak for every situation, we believe that the majority of pediatricians never stopped seeing sick children in person,” the organization wrote. “Many have set aside specific times of the day for children with symptoms or fever in order to protect their other patients.”
Botelho said the clinic her son attends only sees patients who have symptoms during one hour each day, Monday through Friday. During this period, parents can walk with their sick children without an appointment. If it is a medical emergency, it is recommended that they go straight to the nearest emergency department for help.
Jessica Botelho is shown with her two sons.
Botelho said she’s not sure if allowing symptomatic patients to enter the clinic at a specific time will actually help limit transmission. This is because children under the age of two are not required to wear masks in the clinic.
“It doesn’t really make a difference because if they’re under two, they don’t wear a mask,” said the Toronto mother of two. “So I can still go there with my 1-year-old and [he can] finally get sick.”
With the continued transmission of COVID-19, as well as RSV and the flu, Botelho said she is very concerned about the chances of her children getting sick. Adding to that pressure is the uncertainty of whether they will be able to see a doctor within a reasonable amount of time if they get sick, he said.
“It’s frustrating because you know they have to get sick and build their immune systems, but the things that are out there right now are getting kids into the hospital and that’s my big fear,” she said. “What if he was sick now, would I be waiting months for an appointment?
“All we want is to see the doctor to make sure our kids are healthy.”
LACK OF EXPOSURE CONTRIBUTING TO LOW IMMUNITY#
When her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter came down with pneumonia last month, Tanya Copley said she also struggled to make doctor’s appointments. Based in Montreal, Copley said her daughter’s pediatrician is currently on maternity leave.
With limited availability at her daughter’s clinic, Copley has had to rely on doctors at other facilities when scheduling an appointment for her daughter. Using the online platforms Center Up and Rendez-vous santé Québec, she tried to book an appointment for her daughter, but due to demand, the slots were quickly filled.
“Almost every minute I refreshed my page on the website and I couldn’t find anything,” he told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview Sunday. “It’s just a nightmare, especially when you know your child is sick with something like a respiratory disease.”
After a few days of searching, Copley was able to make an appointment on October 22 at the Center Médicale Mieux-Être in Montreal, a 40-minute drive from where she lives. He said he believes part of the reason behind the increased demand for pediatric appointments is that parents and daycare centers are “letting their guard down.”
“Before, the second time they coughed, the daycare would call you and tell you to come and get your child, he’s sick,” she said. “Now, suddenly everyone’s catching something and all their little friends are catching it too.”
Tanya Copley is shown with her two daughters.
Lack of exposure to respiratory diseases also contributes to low immunity among children, said Deputy Director of Public Health Dr. Howard Nju. In the federal government’s COVID-19 briefing Thursday, he said immunity to RSV and other respiratory viruses is particularly low among children who have remained largely confined for the past two years due to COVID-19 public health measures.
According to the CPS, the continued shortage of children’s pain and fever medications, such as Tylenol and Advil, is also playing a role in the increased demand for appointments in Canada’s health care system.
“It’s definitely been a rollercoaster trying to decide when your child is sick enough or when you’ve tried all other options long enough before going to the ER,” Copley wrote in an email to CTVNews.ca on Thursday.
Dr. Alan Grill, chief of family medicine at Markham Stouffville Hospital, spoke to CTV News Channel on Sunday. For parents trying to decide whether to take their children to an emergency room, she said to look for symptoms such as difficulty breathing, difficulty eating or drinking, and chest pains.
After visiting the clinic, Copley said her daughter was given antibiotics to treat her pneumonia and has since recovered. Going forward, she may rethink her strategy when trying to make a doctor’s appointment for her daughter, she said.
“If they have a fever, I might try to look for something right away instead of waiting two to three days,” he said. “Or call the pediatric clinic instead of just waiting to be told you have to book online.”
PARENTS FEEL ‘STUCK’#
On Thanksgiving Monday, Stephanie Paradis said, her eight-year-old son woke up with a fever of about 38.9 C (102 F) for the third day in a row, along with a sore throat and cough. At that point, she began to consider taking him to their family doctor’s after-hours clinic.
But after visiting the clinic’s website, she saw that they were not accepting patients with symptoms such as fever, chills, muscle aches or cough, she said.
“I’ve never seen this before,” he told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview Thursday. “I can honestly say I was a bit surprised, I felt very stuck.”
Instead, Paradis took her son to Guelph General Hospital, where they waited several hours in the emergency room for a doctor, she said. After taking x-rays, her son was given an antibiotic and after a week, his condition improved.
While her son got the help he needed, Paradis said she felt like her family doctor could handle the situation.
“We felt we had no choice,” Paradis said of her family’s decision to visit an emergency room. “I feel like people are being redirected [to hospitals] why family doctors examine patients. It doesn’t help health care workers and hospitals who are already overworked.”
Stephanie Paradis is pictured with her husband, David Paradis, and their son, Logan.
Since then, Paradis said, her family doctor’s clinic has changed its policy. Now, patients with symptoms such as fever, chills, muscle aches or cough must test negative using a rapid at-home COVID-19 antigen test before the visit.
Despite that, Paradis said she still worries about whether her son will be able to see a doctor so soon if he gets sick again.
“It doesn’t make me feel like he’s safe if he gets sick again,” she said. “It’s very worrying.”
The CPS is asking Canadians over the age of six months to get their annual flu shots as soon as possible and to make sure they are up to date on their vaccinations, which includes the COVID-19 shots.
“This, along with staying home when sick and wearing a mask in public, works to slow the spread of viral illnesses and helps keep children healthy,” CPS said in a statement. “We are asking everyone to do their part to ease the pressures on the children’s healthcare system.”
