In an effort to help parents of sick kids reluctant to visit the emergency room due to the COVID-19 pandemic, London's Children's Hospital is now providing an online option.
The hospital announced on Monday it has launched a virtual emergency clinic for those with children in need of care. Through the online system, parents will be able to speak with a paediatric emergency room physician by video to determine whether their child needs to see a family doctor or should attend the hospital's emergency room.
“As care providers, we are concerned that families may be waiting too long to seek the care their children need, inadvertently allowing some conditions to worsen,” Dr. Rod Lim, medical director of the paediatric emergency department at Children’s Hospital, said in a statement. “This virtual clinic is for parents and children who feel they need care, but are unsure whether the emergency department is the right place."
The new virtual clinic will be open seven days a week from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. A virtual visit can be set-up by calling 519-685-8735 and speaking with clerical staff who will begin the patient registration process. From there, parents will be sent an email invitation and instructions for a Cisco Webex meeting.
Once in the meeting, parents and the young patient will be placed in a private virtual waiting room where a doctor will join them for a consultation on a first-come, first-serve basis.
"COVID-19 is encouraging us as health-care providers to find innovative ways to treat our patients," said Lim. “Because we’re not seeing patients in-person, we will not be able to diagnose or prescribe medication during the virtual appointment, but we will ensure that new or developing conditions do not worsen without treatment."
Those turning to the virtual clinic for help are advised to make sure they are in a quiet, well-lit room to ensure the physician will be able to both see and hear the patient.
The virtual clinic does not replace in-person emergency room visits and children in medical distress should be taken to the emergency department immediately, stressed Lim.
The introduction of the virtual emergency clinic at Children's comes just over a week after hospital officials said they have seen a sharp decrease in the number of people going to the emergency room since mid-March. Pediatric emergency visits were said to be down by 50 per cent.