Calgary hospitals brace for upcoming flu season
Posted Aug 30, 2023 6:58 pm.
Last Updated Aug 30, 2023 6:59 pm.
Kids will soon be heading back to school, which happens to be flu season, but after Alberta saw one of the worst seasons since 2009, are Calgary hospitals ready for another surge of respiratory illness?
Roughly 12 percent of Calgary School Board students were away from classes for one week in November because of respiratory illness in 2022.
And with a high load of flu cases possible again this year and rising cases of COVID-19 in Canada, there’s concern about renewed strain on local health care.
Dr. Eddy Lang, head of Calgary’s emergency medicine department for Alberta Health Services (AHS), says this year could be problematic.
“Back to school is definitely a time when we see a surge in pediatric cases because of the viruses that circulate in the classroom,” he told CityNews.
“If the hospital are not prepared for these situations, we can have sometimes 10-20 of these kinds of patients waiting for beds upstairs in the hospital.”
Related Stories:
-
Residents are advised to get COVID boosters before the fall flu season
-
Alberta’s flu cases see significant jump
-
Alberta battling high number of flu cases
Lang says that, based on the current flu season in Australia being a more severe season, a similar situation is expected here.
“The winter period is a difficult time for all emergency departments because of the aging population and the number of patients that get infected and who require hospitalization,” he explained.
Lang has concerns about a healthcare strain from a possible surge in flu and COVID cases, but he also says Calgary hospitals are better positioned to deal with them now thanks to higher staffing levels and lower emergency wait times.
“We usually have plans to open extra units and, if necessary, postpone scheduled surgeries so that we can bring patients who are affected with these viruses, bring them into the hospital,” Lang explained.
“We can never know exactly what we can expect, but I think most of the time we will get through it. It will be difficult, but we do manage. We won’t have to put up tents.”
Last year, the Alberta Children’s Hospital emergency department saw more than 300 visits a day.
In May, the WHO officially declared the COVID-19 virus was no longer a global emergency.
