London, December 8, 2024 - The recent expansion of the pediatric emergency department at the London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) has helped reduce wait times for over 2,500 patients in the past few months.

LHSC officials stated that the additional funding for the new beds came from donations and the Ontario government.

London Children's Hospital is among the most pressured hospitals regarding therapeutic spaces in the city, as the continuous growth of the city requires additional space to meet the increasing needs of the population, according to Dr. Rod Lim, the medical director and head of the emergency department at the hospital.

In addition to London, the children’s hospital covers a vast area of southwestern Ontario, as well as a large part of northern Ontario, including Thunder Bay and other northern areas like Red Lake and Fort Hope.

Lim said in an interview with CBC News, "The world we live in now is completely different from the situation 10 years ago, and we felt that here at the children’s hospital." He added that the mental health crisis among youth, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has contributed to increasing pressure on hospitals.

"Our specialized hospital serves almost a third of the province and includes about a hundred specialists; it is truly the main gateway for this service."

New beds and dedicated treatment rooms

The expansion of the emergency department was funded through donations from the Children's Health Foundation and the Ontario Ministry of Health. The expansion includes the addition of 8 new beds, as well as two dedicated procedure rooms, raising the total number of care spaces to 30.

Lim noted that these new spaces were designed to be warm and welcoming, alleviating some of the psychological pressure and stress on patients and their families.

He said, "By adding new care spaces, we have been able to accommodate patients who were waiting earlier and provide care to them more quickly."

Continued support from the government and the local community

In a statement, Sylvia Jones, Ontario’s Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, said that this expansion is part of a government investment of $330 million in pediatric care, announced last year.

This expansion comes just a few days after the unveiling of a new facility for children at Michael Garron Hospital in Toronto, which was partially funded by the same government initiative.

For his part, Scott Fortnam, President and CEO of the Children’s Health Foundation, thanked donors for their continued support of this initiative and confirmed that they are still raising funds to support the expansion of pediatric care.