December 29, 2023

2023-12-28 17:32:21

The occupancy rate started to rise once more on Thursday in Quebec’s emergency rooms, following a slight drop around Christmas. It is in the regions surrounding the metropolis that the situation is most critical.

Published yesterday at 12:32 p.m.

What there is to know

The emergency room occupancy rate decreased slightly from December 23 to 26.

It started to rise once more on Wednesday.

During the day on Thursday, it reached 127%.

The regions surrounding Montreal were most affected by traffic.

At midday Thursday, the average occupancy rate of emergency rooms across the province was 127%, a rate considered very high, according to the Index Santé website.

In 9 out of 15 regions, the rate exceeded 100%. This assessment contrasts with the days surrounding Christmas. In fact, on December 23, 24, 25 and 26, the emergency occupancy rate remained below 100%. It was 87% on December 24 and 84% on December 25.

It was in the regions of Lanaudière, Montérégie, Laurentides and Laval that the rates were the highest, followed by Montreal. The Lanaudière hospital had a rate of 200% and the Pierre-Le Gardeur hospital, 156%.

In Montérégie, the Anna-Laberge hospital in Châteauguay had an occupancy rate of 191%. It is in this hospital that two patients died, including one in the emergency room, at the beginning of December.

The emergency services of the Suroît hospital, in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, posted an occupancy rate of 181%.

The situation was also difficult in the emergency rooms of the Laurentians, notably at the Mont-Laurier hospital, which posted a rate of 200%, and at the Saint-Eustache hospital (184%).

Avoiding Holiday Emergencies

Last week, the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, asked for the population’s help to relieve Quebec’s emergencies during the holiday season. He pointed out that there was a large proportion of people who consulted the emergency room without having an urgent problem.

This call followed a strong outing from Quebec’s emergency chiefs who, in mid-December, denounced an “out of control” situation in the province’s hospitals. Minister Christian Dubé then had to defend his management of the emergency crisis.

On Thursday, only two regions of Quebec, Bas-Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine, showed an occupancy rate considered normal.

Other options for care

Last week, Mr. Dubé invited people in need of non-urgent care to use other available options during the holidays.

These include family medicine or specialist nurse practitioner clinics, and pharmacies which can provide professional advice. The Minister of Health recalled that the 811 telephone service allows you to speak to a nurse and, sometimes, to obtain an appointment.

The network of winter clinics, specializing in respiratory viruses and gastrointestinal problems⁠, is also deployed throughout Quebec.

Too many Quebecers present themselves in emergency rooms without having benefited from basic care, also deplored the president of the Association of Emergency Medicine Specialists of Quebec, Dr. Gilbert Boucher.

Faced with the sharp increase in the circulation of viruses responsible for COVID-19 and influenza, the national director of public health, Dr. Luc Boileau, invited people to be vaccinated to slow the spread and avoid complications.

With The Canadian Press

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