Canada's largest pediatric hospital is preparing for a surge in activity at its operating rooms after the current respiratory illness season abates.
Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children says six of its 16 operating rooms are shut down right now.
That's after it had to make the tough decision in mid-November to cancel certain surgeries in order to redeploy staff to its overburdened emergency department and I-C-U.
SickKids says it has cancelled 279 surgeries since that decision was made.
The hospital's worst-case scenario sees the respiratory surge lasting until March.
There are six-thousand-157 children on the surgical wait-list at SickKids.
Operating room surgeon Doctor Simon Kelley says even though they worked at 100 per cent capacity this past year, the surgical wait list still grew by 15 per cent.
Pediatric hospitals across Ontario have been under immense pressure due to thousands of children sick with the flu and R-S-V.
Kelley says pediatric hospitals are underfunded and the entire children's health-care system needs a complete redesign.
The province has said the status quo in the health-care system is not working and they are taking steps to change it.