Toronto’s SickKids hospital expecting small number of cancer patients from Ukraine

SickKids said it has long-standing partnerships with children's hospitals in Ukraine

Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children says it’s expecting to receive two pediatric cancer patients from Ukraine within the next 24 to 36 hours. 

SickKids president and CEO Dr. Ronald Cohn says the patients crossed the border from Ukraine into Poland, and will be flying to Toronto. 

Cohn says while the hospital has made it clear that it has capacity to receive more patients from Ukraine, as have other children’s hospitals in Canada, the situation is “highly fluid” and SickKids can’t confirm if more children will arrive for care in Toronto. 

Dr. Sarah Alexander, an oncologist at SickKids, says the hospital will reassess where the two children are in their cancer treatments, which were interrupted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and then proceed to provide them with care. 

Cohn says SickKids has long-standing partnerships with children’s hospitals in Ukraine.

He says the hospital will be there for Ukrainian children and families who need support, while ensuring there’s no impact on care for Canadian patients. 

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has escalated in recent days, with more than three million people fleeing Ukraine so far.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 15, 2022.

Feature image – Doug Ives – The Canadian Press

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