Paediatric Diversion Program Launched At Windsor Regional Hospital To Provide More Timely Care
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Windsor Regional Hospital is launching a new service aimed at helping support paediatric patients who attend the Emergency Departments during specific time periods to receive more timely care.
The Paediatric Emergency Diversion Service (PEDs) will run through the fall and winter seasons, to reduce the time paediatric patients spend in the Emergency Department and, in turn, optimizing ED resources and reducing overcrowding.
This unique service, run by a paediatric speciality team will be available on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 3:00pm to 11:00pm. These periods are the busiest times for paediatric services, when there are limited services for paediatric patients elsewhere in the community.
Over the last fiscal year (April 1st, 2022 to March 31st, 2023), the hospital says they saw approximately 95,000 Emergency Department visits, with approximately 10,000 to 12,000 of those being paediatric patients.
During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, WRH operated a stand-alone clinic focused on paedatric patients needing care for respiratory issues. This service was called the Paediatric Urgent Medical Assessment (PUMA) clinic. As we prepared for this fall and winter season, WRH worked with Ontario Health to tailor a modified program to meet the current needs of the paedetric population.
The new service will see patients under the age of 17 triaged in the Emergency Department who meet specific clinical criteria. If they meet the criteria, they’ll be quickly assessed by an ED provider before being brought to a dedicated space on the pediatric unit at Met Campus. Here, they will be treated by a specialized team, including a pediatrician and pediatric nurse, supported by Diagnostic Imaging and Lab services.
The Paediatric Emergency Diversion Service is set to go live at Met Campus on September 8th, 2023.
