BC Children’s Hospital has clarified its guidelines for advising patients to stay at home should they be feeling ill, following a tweet published Monday that stirred confusion on the social media platform.
To clarify, if your child is ill or injured and you believe they require immediate medical care, you can take them to the emergency ward at BC Children’s Hospital.
“BC Children’s Hospital will always provide care to children and families who need us. Our hospital continues to provide 24/7 emergency care for babies, children and youth who are sick or injured,” stated Sarah Bell, the hospital’s chief operating officer, to Glacier Media.
Some confusion became apparent following the hospital’s tweet that stated: “Not feeling great? Your appointment can wait. If you or your child are coming to one of our clinics but are feeling sick, please call & rebook your appointment for when you are well. Thanks for helping keep our patients and staff safe & healthy.”
The tweet was, in social media lingo, “ratioed” — that is, it received far more quotes than likes and those quotes from people and accounts typically indicated they thought the hospital was informing sick kids to stay home.
In fact, the hospital has numerous clinics for non-emergency care. The tweet intends to inform patients of some of those clinics to stay home if their illness is manageable at home, in order to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses.
The following is the hospital's guideline for ill clinic patients:
"For routine and non-urgent appointments within our outpatient clinics, if parents or children are feeling unwell with viral symptoms – these can include fever, cough, runny nose, vomiting or diarrhea – they should call the clinic they have the appointment with to determine if it should be postponed. A doctor or nurse will provide guidance.
"For urgent outpatient appointments, families should still come even if they are sick – and to help protect staff and other patients, families should let their clinic know they have symptoms, and they should wear a mask if they are able to when they are inside the hospital."
Some people commented that cancelling an appointment would require a re-booking that could take months; however, a hospital spokesperson told Glacier Media the hospital has measures in place to ensure that does not occur.
“If children require urgent care and they or their parents are unwell, masks are available at the entrances to our hospital. Anyone with cold or flu symptoms should wear a mask. We also ask that patients and families please continue to clean their hands at the hospital entrances and throughout their visit. This message and these measures are part of our ongoing efforts to keep our vulnerable patients safe,” added Bell.
Earlier this month provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry lifted mask mandates in health-care facilities, including BC Children’s Hospital.
As cold, flu and COVID-19 viruses spread last fall, the hospital commonly had wait times exceeding 12 hours. Today, the wait time is about two hours and 45 minutes.
This article was edited April 27 with further comment from the hospital
