Quebecers will now be able to know how long they will wait in the emergency room, thanks to new data published by the government today.
A new website, continuously updated, shows how many people are waiting in the emergency department of all hospitals in the province and the average time they spend in the waiting room. These new, more precise data should help patients choose between emergency or an alternative solution.
The seven indicators that citizens can consult, taking the example of La Sarre hospital in Abitibi.
In a few weeks, data on the average time before seeing a doctor in the emergency room and the waiting time on the 811 telephone line will be added to guide sick Quebecers.
“I don’t want to say that things are going well in the emergency room and I hesitate to say that things are going better, but it is certain that we are seeing an improvement”, assures the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, in an interview with The newspaper.
Previously, patients had to fall back on the occupancy rates of the stretchers, which does not take into account the ambulatory, that is to say the people present in the emergency room who go to see a doctor, without being hospitalized. .
“The ambulatory is two thirds of the volume. Most of them [des patients] don’t end up on a stretcher and don’t wait 15 hours,” explains Mr. Dubé.
Crisis unit
Three months after its creation, the Minister draws up a positive assessment of the crisis cell, set up to help overwhelmed emergencies.
This fall, labor shortages coupled with respiratory viruses wreaked havoc on hospitals.
“The only place you can’t close is the emergency room. But we can close beds on the floors or delay surgeries, ”he explains.
Thus, a hospital that exceeds its capacity in the emergency room can delay operations in order to keep beds on the floors and reduce stretcher waits. The departure time of specialists from the hospital is monitored, since patients on stretchers are often waiting for their visit.
“Fluidity managers” now make the link between the emergency department and the floors. From December to January, outpatient visits to the emergency room increased from 7,500 to 5,600 daily and the waiting time fell by one hour, from 3:12 a.m. to 2:16 a.m.
The worst is over
“As a user, I think the worst is over [dans les urgences]but for our staff, no”, admits the minister, who ensures that hiring is a priority.
The president of the Association of specialists in emergency medicine of Quebec, Gilbert Boucher, notices an improvement, adding that the viruses circulate less.
According to him, these new data will help citizens choose their emergency, in addition to better balancing the health network.
►Emergency data is available at: quebec.ca/situationurgences
CRISIS CELL FOR SURGERY
Minister Christian Dubé is considering a crisis cell, like that of emergencies, to reduce the enormous wait for surgery.
As of December 31, nearly 164,000 people were still waiting for surgery in Quebec.
This is even more than the 145,000 people waiting when the minister announced that he wanted to catch up by June 2023.
“We’re not there right now, not at all,” agrees Mr. Dubé.
Soon, he intends to publish data on delays by CISSS and CIUSSS to have a more accurate portrait of the situation, he continues.
“The crisis unit did its job [pour les urgences] and we have to replicate that success,” he said.
TWO BILLS IN FEBRUARY
Minister Dubé intends to introduce two bills in February: for the creation of the Health Quebec agency and to regulate employment agencies.
“I hope we can table the bill before the end of February, that’s my goal,” he said of Health Quebec. A draft is currently circulating within the Department of Health and Social Services.
Like Hydro-Québec, this agency must coordinate the day-to-day management of the health network, to be closer to the field and “change governance”.
Mr. Dubé also confirms his intention, mentioned just before Christmas, to tighten the screws on placement agencies in the network with a bill this month.
It aims in particular to better regulate the shifts to which agency workers will be able to have access.