The Anna-Laberge Hospital in Châteauguay, the Lanaudière Regional Hospital Center, the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, the Mont-Laurier Hospital, the Sept-Îles Hospital… The list of emergencies including the occupancy rate approaching or exceeding 200% has only been getting longer for a week.
The Association of Emergency Medicine Specialists of Quebec (ASMUQ) believes that the situation is worse than last summer, despite equivalent traffic. “There is more congestion”, says its president, the Dr Gilbert Boucher.
He explains that the number of patients who are in the emergency room awaiting admission to the hospitalization floors is higher this summer than last year on the island of Montreal: 260 each day on average between June 27 and on August 22, compared to 199 during the same period last year.
Why are so many patients stuck in the emergency room? Because there are no beds on the floors. In fact, patients who no longer require hospital care must remain in the hospital while waiting to obtain a place in a CHSLD or in another resource.
“In the summer of 2022, 689 beds in Montreal hospitals were occupied on average by patients from alternative levels of care [donc, pas hospitaliers,] for about 5000 beds in total, indicates the Dr Butcher. They were 523 on average last summer. »
The seventh wave resulted in the absence of many employees, which contributed to reducing the number of available beds.
According to the Dr Boucher, emergencies alone cannot absorb this batch of patients who need to be hospitalized. “When you look at what you can do right now, it’s not magic,” he says. We won’t have more employees. But an easy short-term solution is to say “everyone takes one or two more patients” on their floor. »
A “very difficult” summer in Montérégie-Ouest
Many health care workers are in low spirits in Quebec emergency rooms. According to the FIQ – Union of Healthcare Professionals of Montérégie-Ouest, the summer was “very difficult”. The occupancy rate was 219% at the Anna-Laberge Hospital emergency room on Tuesday afternoon, and 147% at the Suroît Hospital.
“There is a large amount of overtime and compulsory overtime everywhere in our network”, points out its secretary-treasurer, Maxime Laforce.
Both hospitals suffer from severe staff shortages. At the Anna-Laberge Hospital, a medical unit had to be closed in April for lack of sufficient employees. “The population in Montérégie-Ouest is growing a lot, whether in Valleyfield, Vaudreuil-Dorion and Châteauguay,” adds Maxime Laforce. Emergency rooms never have an occupancy rate below 125% or 150%. »
The hospitals of Saint-Eustache and Saint-Jérôme had occupancy rates of 163% and 164% respectively on Tuesday afternoon. This rate reached 220% compared to Mont-Laurier during the day.
“The Laurentides region is booming,” says Dominic Presseault, president of the Union of Laurentian Health and Social Services Workers – CSN. We just can’t supply, even in quiet times. It hasn’t let up since the spring. »
Two weeks ago, the CISSS des Laurentides asked “the population to avoid all emergencies in the region”, because of “high occupancy rates”. He invited people “with non-emergency health problems to opt for solutions other than going to the hospital”, and reiterated this instruction from August 19 to 22 for the Saint-Jérôme Regional Hospital only. .
According to Dominic Presseault, “many” hospitalized people are waiting for accommodation in the Laurentians, which clogs up emergency rooms. Health workers are also on vacation. “We still have about two weeks to go through,” he said. The staff will come back. »