2023-12-20 09:00:00
After the holidays last January, Quebec Minister of Health Christian Dubé said he wanted to talk about subjects other than the emergency crisis in the following months.
Yes, it’s the fun to put out fires and resolve emergencies, but I’m not here for that, Christian Dubé said during his first press scrum of the year.
Ironically, he will have ended the year 2023 with a press briefing reporting on the extremely difficult context in emergencies.
It’s unfortunate, but we don’t come to see you when things are going well, Minister Dubé argued Tuesday during a press conference. At his side were Dr. Luc Boileau, national director of public health for Quebec, and Dr. Gilbert Boucher, from the Association of Emergency Medicine Specialists of Quebec.
We are more short of staff than last year. […] That’s the issue this year.
It must be said that the occupancy of emergency stretchers has started to rise again in recent weeks: around 3 out of 10 emergencies have an occupancy rate of more than 150%, some even exceeding 200%.
We end up with double occupancy on the stretchers! illustrated Dimitri Soudas on the show Politics buffsbroadcast on ICI RDI.
The situation is so worrying that the reestablishment of the emergency crisis unit was recently necessary.
We won’t have miracle solutions, but we will meet every week for the next 10 weeks [soit jusqu’en mars 2024]mentioned Dr. Gilbert Boucher.
New players will be added to the group, he said.
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Dr. Gilbert Boucher, from the Association of Emergency Medicine Specialists
Photo : Radio-Canada
Location de places
Among the measures put forward in the fall of 2022, the rental of private accommodation spaces offered a respite to hospitals.
In the coming months, Quebec intends to rent 500 additional spaces, especially in Greater Montreal, said Mr. Dubé. We are also counting on the gradual opening of seniors’ homes.
As a person familiar with the accommodation industry points out, the government is really looking for places, but many are 100% full.
Meanwhile, approximately 2,300 patients no longer requiring care still occupy a hospital bed in Quebec hospitals, indicate the most recent data from the Ministry of Health and Social Services.
Each accommodation space found is likely to free up a hospital bed, then a stretcher in the emergency room.
Minister Dubé also mentioned the tools in Law 15 and the need for more flexibility for healthcare personnel. We are heading towards a cultural change […]a culture of results, he warns.
According to ministry data, workforce needs generally vary between 11,000 and 12,000 people, whether for nurses, orderlies and respiratory therapists.
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Dr Luc Boileau, national director of public health of Quebec
Photo : Radio-Canada
50,000 new COVID cases per day
During his presentation, the national director of public health, Dr. Luc Boileau, reiterated that it is never too late to get vaccinated, whether for the flu or COVID-19.
Over the past two weeks, there have been a million Quebecers who have said they have had a respiratory infection, said Dr. Boileau.
According to his estimates, there are currently 40,000 to 50,000 new cases of COVID per day, a number that has doubled in a few weeks.
These patients are likely to be hospitalized, especially the elderly and immunosuppressed patients.
According to the most recent data, around 2,300 patients who tested positive for COVID-19 are currently hospitalized. This is without forgetting the flu, which is occurring later this year.
To avoid the worst, everyone was reminded to avoid emergencies for common symptoms.
Just last week, I saw a 25-year-old in the emergency room who had a fever, cough and sore throat, Dr. Boucher gave as an example.
According to him, a little acetaminophen could help reduce emergency room traffic.
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