The emergency occupancy rate has never been so high in five years in Quebec, just a few days after the holiday season.
As of January 8, the emergency occupancy rate stood at 135%. We are far from the 85% objective of the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS).
The previous peak in the occupancy rate dates back to January 2020, before the pandemic. It then stood at 130%.
Despite this high rate, the number of emergency room visits is lower than what we saw in the past during this period. Around 9,500 people go to emergency rooms every day in the province currently. This number was more like 11,000 patients in January 2020.
The situation continues to be particularly tense in Greater Montreal, where occupancy rates exceed 140%. The Lanaudière region is at the top of the sad list, with an occupancy rate of 190%, followed by the Laurentians, at 165%. The emergency rooms of Chaudière-Appalaches, on the South Shore of Quebec, are also experiencing increased traffic at the start of the year.
Difficult situation in emergency
With the circulation of respiratory viruses, the holiday holidays and the labor shortage, the situation is “excessively difficult” in the health network, declared the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, on December 19. He must again take stock of the emergency situation this afternoon.
He asked Quebecers to avoid emergencies if their situation does not require immediate care. “There is a large proportion of people who consult emergency rooms who do not have urgent problems and should not go to the emergency room. There are alternatives. »
The situation in emergencies has been “very difficult” for the last four to six weeks, admitted the Dr Gilbert Boucher, president of the Association of Emergency Medicine Specialists of Quebec, shortly before the holiday season.
At the beginning of December, pediatric doctors also urged parents to avoid emergency rooms if their child did not need immediate care. The DD Laurie Plotnick, medical director of emergencies at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, instead invited parents to contact the 811 line for advice or a medical appointment.
With Pierre-André Normandin