Disruptions in Care: Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Children’s Hospital

Background

Public health restrictions are an essential strategy to prevent the spread of COVID-19; however, unintended consequences of these interventions may have led to significant delays, deferrals and disruptions in medical care. This study explores clinical cases where the care of children was perceived to have been negatively impacted as a result of public health measures and changes in healthcare delivery and access due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

This study used a qualitative multiple case study design with descriptive thematic analysis of clinician-reported consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on care provided at a children’s hospital. A quantitative analysis of overall hospital activity data during the study period was performed.

Results

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant change to hospital activity at our tertiary care hospital, including an initial reduction in Emergency Department attendance by 38% and an increase in ambulatory virtual care from 4% before COVID-19, to 67% in August, 2020. Two hundred and twelve clinicians reported a total of 116 unique cases. Themes including (1) timeliness of care, (2) disruption of patient-centered care, (3) new pressures in the provision of safe and efficient care and (4) inequity in the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, each impacting patients, their families and healthcare providers.

Conclusion

Being aware of the breadth of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic across all of the identified themes is important to enable the delivery of timely, safe, high-quality, family-centred pediatric care moving forward.

What’s new

COVID-19 disrupted typical paediatric care delivery.

This study demonstrates the breadth of its’ impact on the delivery of timely, safe, equitable and patient and family centered care, highlighting considerations for paediatric providers as we move forward.