COVID-19 testing centers continue to be overwhelmed in Montreal: many people wait several hours in the cold, while confusion reigns around certain guidelines. The clinics are also under pressure from residents of the South Shore who cannot make an appointment near their home.
At the screening clinic on rue Chauveau, in eastern Montreal, several patients had been patient since 7:45 a.m. Tuesday morning during the passage of the Duty, a little before 1 p.m.
“I have leave, so I was able to go,” says Isadora Morin, who has recently been in direct contact with someone who has obtained a positive result. Despite the cold, she keeps her spirits up. Just like Suzanne Cyr, in her sixties. “My daughter came to wear me new boots and I got to eat a little something,” she says. Her grandson contracted COVID-19, and her appointment for a third dose is January 12. The security guard opens the door for them, and they can finally get in the warmth.
A nurse dressed in a medical uniform and looking a little tired, who wears an N95 mask, comes out of the center to ask the cantonade who has a yellow orange coupon. Nobody’s answering. “We distribute them to calculate the waiting time. We give them to people, but sometimes they go, he tells the Duty. It’s a bit of a disaster, we have about five hours of waiting. The problem, he points out, is a lack of staff.
In addition, there is a very high number of people from the South Shore, who cannot be tested in their area. “There are people everywhere,” he says, before going back inside.
This is the case for Martin, mask on his chin and cigarette on his beak, who arrived from Otterburn Park around 9:30 am “There is nothing open on the South Shore. We cannot reserve. The system says there is a time slot at 8:15, you try to click on it, and it says it’s no longer available. And there are no walk-in places, ”he says.
Of the three CISSSs of Montérégie that The duty contacted Tuesday, only the one from Montérégie-Est responded.
“It is currently difficult for us to increase our capacity to make appointments at our three screening sites, because we lack resources,” says Marianne Paquette, in charge of media relations. We are redoubling our efforts to recruit to find new collectors. “
The system says there is a time slot at 8:15, you try to click on it, and it says it’s no longer available
Measures have been put in place to meet demand, such as extending the opening hours of centers, setting up a mobile team, and internal self-screening of employees, which frees up place for the general public.
Confusion also reigns around the guidelines. Amélie, who took her sister’s place in the line at the Chauveau clinic, says that an employee asked her to leave because she already had a positive rapid test in her pocket. What surprised them, because the directive is to get a PCR test in a center if the rapid test is positive. The same situation has been reported at Hôtel-Dieu.
Danny Raymond, communications advisor at the CIUSSS du Center-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, speaks of a “new strategy on the ground”. “When the expected wait time is too long, people who are positive for the rapid test are invited to go home, to isolate themselves and to make an appointment for a PCR test without going to the walk-in. “
The Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) insists for its part that the instructions are clear. “If the result is positive, isolate yourself and make an appointment at a screening center as soon as possible. Going to the walk-in is not a good idea, there is a risk of the virus spreading ”, we indicated in an email sent to Duty.
Increase in supply
Traffic was also very high at the La Petite-Patrie and Villeray screening clinics on Tuesday morning, and rapid tests were distributed in line. Faced with this exploding demand, the supply will be increased, said the CIUSSS du Nord-de-l’Île-de-Montréal in Duty.
The establishment has decided to offer appointments seven days a week, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., at its four clinics, a measure that takes effect Tuesday and Wednesday. “We are preparing to update our website with this new information,” says spokesperson Marie-Hélène Giguère.
For its part, the CIUSSS du Center-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal does not rule out increasing its offer. The Hôtel-Dieu walk-in clinic was full when the Duty Tuesday noon, and a health care worker was distributing two rapid tests per symptomatic person. “Our strategy is always evolving, it is not excluded that we widen the offer”, indicates the spokesperson of the organization.
About ten people who have come forward on the I contribute platform will also join the vaccination and screening team.
At the CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, it is stated that they have “greatly increased our screening capacity in recent weeks”. “Please know that we are monitoring the situation closely and that we are operating at full capacity to meet demand and screen as much as possible,” wrote in an email to Duty a spokesperson, Hélène Bergeron-Gamache. The establishment insists that the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, asked that priority be given to symptomatic people in screening centers.
The CIUSSS du Center-Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal has increased its offer very recently. He added two screening sites with or without an appointment open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to a spokesperson.
And all insist: we must not resort to screening centers to have peace of mind for gatherings or suppers.