Abstract Background Children with medical complexity (CMC) have unique specialized needs accessing and receiving care in paediatric hospitals. Objectives To identify the organizational resources available for the care of CMC in Canadian tertiary care paediatric hospitals and to assess key informants’ understanding of how these resources are adapted to CMC’s needs. Methods For this environmental scan, key informants representing paediatric hospital medicine/complex care (PHM/CC) and paediatric emergency medicine (PEM) from all 15 Canadian tertiary care paediatric hospitals completed questionnaires. Participants were identified through national research networks. Following Burns methodology, two novel survey tools were developed and administered via a teleconference or electronically. Results From September 2023 to June 2024, one key informant from PHM/CC and one from PEM responded from each site (n = 30, response rate: 100%). Most (12/15) hospitals had a CC program; of those with a program, 9/12 offered inpatient and outpatient services. For hospitalized CMC, few hospitals had CC dedicated wards (2/15) or healthcare professionals (4/15). Although 10/12 CC programs reported offering a consultation service to their emergency department (ED), most (9/10) were only available on weekdays. PHM/CC respondents believed their inpatient CC team communicated and coordinated effectively (9/12) and facilitated continuity of care (6/12). PEM respondents suggested improving access to patients’ documents (10/15), improving CC program availability (8/15) and adapting ED physical spaces (7/15). Conclusions Most Canadian paediatric tertiary care hospitals have a CC program, but their resources and availability vary. There are many opportunities for improvement for the ED and inpatient care of CMC.
Pinto et al. (Sat,) studied this question.