Pediatric doctors speak out about ‘unacceptably long’ surgery wait times at Stollery

Watch above: Another Alberta family is coming forward after their child’s surgery at the Stollery Children’s Hospital was cancelled. As Tom Vernon reports, the ongoing problem has doctors speaking out.

EDMONTON — A group of physicians from Edmonton’s Stollery Children’s Hospital is demanding something be done about what the doctors call “significant cancellation rates” at the facility.

In a letter obtained by the Edmonton Journal, the details of which were confirmed to Global News by Dr. Bryan Dicken who signed the letter, more than 20 physicians outlined their concerns over the “alarming trend” of postponed and cancelled procedures over the past several months.

“Evaluation of the postponement/cancellation data over the last 5 months (April-August 2014) alone demonstrates an alarming trend. Over this brief period we have experienced 289 cancellations, of which 111 were directly attributed to the lack of available post-operative bed(s),” the letter reads.

“Far too often our patients wait unacceptably long periods for surgery, endure emotional consequences and the families must face financial hardships as a consequence of time away from work and travel.”

READ MORE: Pediatric doctor voices concerns over postponed surgeries at Stollery Children’s Hospital

Another one of the doctors who signed the letter has been treating Grande Prairie’s Grace Rowney for most of her life. The one-year-old has a condition that forces her bladder to push urine back up into her kidneys, which often leads to infections.

“She’s on medication, she has been since she was a month old,” said Grace’s mom, Courtney. “(She takes) antibiotics every day. Whenever she spikes a fever I have to take her to the ER. Sometimes it means catheters to check her urine to see if there’s infections.”

Courtney and her husband, Clint, say the condition causes their daughter great pain and she cries every time she urinates.

The condition is treatable with surgery, but the Rowneys say twice now they’ve travelled to Edmonton for the procedure only to have it postponed.

“We get there and she’s dressed and ready for the OR and then they tell us to walk around with a pager … They’re still trying to sort out beds and then they eventually tell us to go home,” Courtney said of their most recent visit to Edmonton earlier this month.

READ MORE: Edmonton mother sounds alarm on pediatric surgery delays

Dr. David Mador, Alberta Health Service’s medical director for Northern Alberta, knows there is a problem.

“We are experiencing a lot of pressure at the hospital. We’ve had unprecedented growth and we’re struggling to keep up with the baby boom,” Mador said Friday.

“Every year for the last few years we add another medium-sized city to the population of Alberta. We don’t add a new medium-sized hospital every year in Alberta so it’s a struggle.”

Mador says there are “numerous initiatives” currently underway to help address the growing capacity, including using more operating rooms in the evening and developing a 23-hour day surgery unit.

In the long term, the hospital will need to expand; that option will be studied in the new year. But until new capacity can be added, the system will have to find ways to better use existing space.

The Rowneys have been told Grace’s surgery will be rescheduled within the next two to three weeks, but they say they’re afraid it will once again be delayed.

“It’s hard to see when your child is going to grow up in constant pain. She’s usually happy but you can tell when she’s fighting something,” said Clint.

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With files from Tom Vernon, Global News.