The Paediatric Diversion Program at Windsor Regional Hospital has expanded its hours due to its success.
The program, which originally ran on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in the evening at the Met Campus, has now expanded to seven days a week.
This program was introduced in September 2023, with the aim of assisting paediatric patients who attend the Emergency Departments during certain time periods to receive more timely care.
It's for patients under the age of 17 triaged in the Emergency Department who meet specific clinical criteria, and since it launched seven months ago the hospital has seen 700 children go through the program.
During last week's WRH Board of Directors meeting, it was announced that the program was expanded on March 1 due to its success.
Rosemary Petrakos, Vice President of Surgery and Family Services, says the pilot program was only for the weekend.
"It was so successful that on March 1, 2024, we expanded it to seven afternoons a week. And we also relaxed the criteria a little bit to pull more patients up, and it's really to help the paediatric patients, their families, it's also helped to decrease the congestion in ED."
She says to see 700 children through this program is a big number.
"And when you look, those are clinic-type patients, and 10 per cent of those patients that came up to the Diversion Clinic still were admitted. So you can see the acuity of the illness of the kids that we're seeing."
Petrakos says this program is important for all patients.
"If you have a sick child, kids get sick really fast, and then get better really fast. So you don't want to be sitting there for the four, eight, six hours in emerg waiting to see an ED provider, when we can pull the patients up in the afternoon where they see a pediatrician, specialized paediatric nurses, and get the care and treatment they need, and go back home."
Ontario Health funds the program at Windsor Regional Hospital.
The program runs in the afternoon and evening as that's when there are limited services available for paediatric patients elsewhere in the community.
-with files from AM800's Aaron Mahoney