A Message from the Pediatric Cardiology Team
Our Pediatric Cardiology team is thinking of all of you and continue to be here to support you in any way we can through this COVID-19 pandemic.
Based on all we know to date regarding COVID-19 and our experience from the National Surveillance Program, most children, including children with heart disorders, are expected to have a mild case of COVID-19 should they contract it. Please continue to follow all the COVID-19 precautions and recommendations which are updated regularly on the Saskatchewan Government Website (see here).
Pediatric Cardiology Clinics at JPCH in Saskatoon are slowly returning to normal, but we have not yet re-opened our weekly outreach clinics in Regina. The main restriction now is due to the need to maintain social distancing at registration and in the waiting area. After being restricted to urgent only clinics from late March to June, we opened up clinics more in July and are now working on booking all overdue clinic appointments. However, we are still having to prioritize these bookings according to the severity of your child’s heart disorder and some interim assessments may still need to be done by phone. If you think your child’s regular follow-up appointment is significantly overdue and you are concerned, please phone our office at (306) 844-1235.
Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, Cardiac Catheterization and Electrophysiology Procedures have continued to be booked throughout the pandemic for all urgent cases without any restriction. Bookings for non-urgent procedures are still having to be prioritized according to the severity of your child’s needs. If you are concerned about any delay in your child’s procedure being booked, please phone our office at (306) 844-1235.
Current Recommendations for Children with Heart Disorders Returning Back to School or Childcare are still evolving. Based on what we know currently, we think that most children with heart disorders should be able to return back to school or childcare in September. Please continue to follow the Safe Schools Plan as per the Saskatchewan Government Website (see here).
A small number (<1%) of children with heart disorders may be at greater risk from COVID-19 as follows: (1) un-operated cyanotic heart disease; (2) severe pulmonary hypertension; (3) severe heart failure; (4) failing Fontan including protein losing enteropathy; and (5) those waiting for or within the early months following heart transplant, following intensified anti-rejection therapy, with unstable graft function, or if other severe comorbidities exist. If you are concerned about your child returning back to school or childcare in September because of one of these heart disorders, please phone our office at (306) 844-1235.
Our team is working hard to keep your loved ones safe and healthy. Thank you for all your patience and support for our team.
Take care and stay healthy,
The Pediatric Cardiology Team, JPCH
Mending Little Hearts Team