Thank you very much and good morning. I really appreciate this opportunity to speak to you about this vitally important topic.
As noted, I'm joining you today as president of McMaster Children's Hospital and as chair of the board of directors of Children's Healthcare Canada. I'll note that I'm joining from Hamilton, which is located on the traditional territories of Mississauga and Haudenosaunee nations within the lands protected by A Dish with One Spoon Wampum agreement.
The McMaster Children's Hospital is one of the 16 dedicated children's hospitals across Canada. We serve a catchment area of two and a half million people, including half a million children, youth and their families, and provide comprehensive specialized health care to newborn, children and youth and their families from across this region.
Like all of the others you've heard from today, I am here because our teams and the families they serve believe we need to sound the alarm on the health and well-being of Canada's children and youth, and we need to make their health a top priority going forward.
Our teams and the families are worried that what they see and experience directly is not recognized by the public or by our leaders. They believe we need a clear commitment to refocus on the health of our kids. In my view, that's the greatest opportunity for this study by your standing committee.
Why do we need to sound that alarm? You've already heard from my colleagues. You've heard about the 2020 UNICEF report card. Canada ranks 30th and 31st for children's physical and mental health, respectively, out of 38 OECD countries. We're in the bottom third of the report for such key indicators as child mortality, obesity, teen suicide and immunizations. In a country as rich and as developed as Canada, it's inconceivable to most of us that we're performing so poorly. Those working directly with children, youth and families in schools and community agencies and hospitals are not surprised by those figures. That's because they see the impacts on a day-to-day basis.
Our mental health teams see the children who have been waiting as long as two and a half years to access specialized mental health services.
Our child development rehab teams struggle to support parents of children needing school-based rehab as they wait three years for that. And our in-patient teams struggle to provide care to critically ill children and youth following suicide attempts, overdose and substance use and severe eating disorders.
That data was collected before the pandemic. As you've heard, Canada's children and youth have borne the brunt. Their development—physical, emotional, social and spiritual—has been impacted severely by learning loss, reductions in access to physical activity, social isolation, and delays in access to care. Again the data are striking.
You've heard from Dr. Doan about the mental health of Canada's children. At McMaster Children's Hospital, we're seeing a doubling of admissions to our in-patient wards for treatment for substance-use disorders, and a 90% increase in admissions to our eating disorders and patient treatment unit.
Delays in care and increasing demand aren't limited to those related to mental health. You've heard from Dr. Drake. Think about that. Here at MCH, nearly two-thirds of parents of children waiting for surgery have already seen their kids miss the recommended window. Across Canada, hospitals are experiencing unprecedented volumes, occupancy and waits.
This morning at MCH, our emergency department had 10 children who had been admitted to the hospital but who were waiting because we didn't have an in-patient bed. That's because we were operating at 119% occupancy of those beds as of yesterday. What those numbers really mean is kids waiting up to more than 24 hours and critically ill children and their families being transferred across the province, for example, from Hamilton to Ottawa, because we don't have an ICU bed.
I could go on and on. The data clearly paint a picture of how the health of Canada's children and youth is not where it should be.
That leads to what I think really is the overriding ask for this committee, that you recommend that Canada prioritize improving the health and well-being of our children and youth.
There is great impact from the federal government making a public commitment to work with others to prioritize improving the lives of kids. That will of course need to be followed by tangible actions, and you've heard excellent recommendations from experts over the past few days.
I would add first that the “Inspiring Healthy Futures” report can form the basis for the development of a pan-Canadian child and youth health strategy. That is the key first step.
Second, I'd call out some additional key developments. Canada requires a sustained and focused effort to understand and report on the health care of our children and youth. We need to collect extensive data on a longitudinal basis to inform best policy and action. That will link directly to the need for a targeted child and youth health research agenda targeted towards new knowledge on maternal, newborn, child and youth health that, in turn, points towards better support and coordination for the sharing, dissemination, mobilization and adoption of that knowledge across the country.
Third, I'd highlight again a couple of the most pressing areas for focus of a child health strategy. Improving access to specialized services for rural and remote, particularly indigenous, populations remains critical to addressing health disparities and promoting health equity in children's health care and health. Children and youth require timely access to appropriate mental health services close to home. A commitment to earmarking 25% of the Canada mental health transfer for children under 18 would be a crucial first step. There are so many other key areas as you've heard.
As I close, I'd like to thank all of the members of the committee for their decision to undertake the study of child health. As I've said, this is a crucial first step towards beginning to address the crisis that we see in child and youth health across Canada. It's my hope that that first step will lead you to recommend a public commitment and associated action steps to prioritize kids' health and well-being across Canada.
Thank you sincerely for your time and attention.