Children’s Health: “Waiting Lists Are Wrong,” Says CHEO CEO

The Children’s Health Alliance, which brings together several organizations providing health care to children, called on Monday for strong commitments from Ontario politicians to help the sector.

Dr. Simon Kelley, orthopedic surgeon at SickKids Hospital, insists on the importance of acting quickly.

He points out that more than 5,500 children are awaiting surgery at his hospital alone. The waiting list has even increased by 50% in the past two years and, according to him, medical staff were already seeing an increase before the start of the pandemic.

For his part, the President and CEO of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEOChildren’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario), Alex Munter, believes that the province’s children should have better access to the health care system.

In general, in Ontario, we see that children wait longer for health care than adultshe said at a press conference on Monday morning.

According to him, in hospitals, centers for mental health care and rehabilitation centers, waiting lists are unacceptable.

To remedy the problem, the leader and his colleagues from the Alliance for Children’s Health want the next government to invest a billion dollars over four years in order to implement an action plan. The organization wants the future government to implement the plan drawn up by the Alliance in its first 100 days in power.

” Without significant additional resources, we will never be able to catch up. [au niveau des opérations chirurgicales]. »

The doctor also explains that delays can have significant consequences on the health of children. For example, some deformities may worsen and surgical operations may become more complex over time.

More than 5,500 children are waiting for surgery at SickKids Hospital.

Photo: CBC

Many requests

The plan proposed by the Alliance for Children’s Health also aims to provide more support to community mental health services in order to unclog hospitals and increase hospital capacity for pediatric intensive care.

The province’s children have been impacted by the pandemic. Too much has been asked of them. Now more than ever, it is imperative that we have strong provincial support so that our children can access the care they need in a timely manner.said Children’s Mental Health Ontario President and CEO Tatum Wilson.

Caregivers are also calling for a long-term government strategy, involving the entire network, to improve services.

Party proposal

Contacted by e-mail, political parties have underlined their intention to study these proposals.

On the side of NDPNew Democratic Partythey say they have a plan to improve access to mental health services and reduce wait times to 30 days in this sector.

Ontario Liberal Party officials say that investments essential to eliminating delays in surgeries and reducing wait times for mental health services will be done. We promise to unveil a more detailed plan in the near future.

At the time of writing these lines, the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario had not responded to requests from Radio-Canada.