Northeastern Ontario hospitals seeing flood of young patients with breathing problems

Hospital emergency rooms across northeastern Ontario are busy this fall with more children who are having trouble breathing. 

Provincial statistics show the number of northerners under 17 going to hospital with breathing problems is currently double the seasonal average.

The government also reports that COVID, influenza and RSV are accounting for a quarter of all ER visits to some hospitals in the region, including Timmins and Temiskaming. 

Dr. Jun Kim works in the emergency department at the Timmins and District Hospital and hears a lot more children crying these days.

"It seems to be that it's hitting everybody all at once at the same time," he said. 

"In previous seasons, some children would be absent from school, but it seems like sometimes now eight to ten children from a class are missing and this is just a story from my daughter's class alone."

Kim, who is also one of the medical directors in the Timmins ER, says the respiratory illnesses are also hitting much earlier in the season this year, where influenza historically peaks in January.

He says this is the busiest the emergency department has been since the hospital opened in 1993, regularly seeing 20 or 30 people waiting to see a doctor when he starts his shift, knowing that the emergency beds are all full.

"Our wait times have increased dramatically," Kim said. 

"And certainly for parents with children who are sick, it must be difficult for them."

He advises patients to follow the familiar public health protocols of hand washing and staying home when you have mild symptoms.

For those who might have COVID-19, the Timmins hospital also runs an assessment clinic across the street, where patients can be prescribed anti-viral treatment specifically developed during the pandemic.