It’s a victory for emergency physicians, who have been calling for months for hospital units and departments to take in more patients to reduce pressure on the emergency room. The office of the Minister of Health Christian Dubé confirms that an “overcapacity protocol” will be put in place in hospitals, as recommended by the crisis unit set up by Quebec to curb the crisis in emergencies.
“Mr. Dubé met the members of the crisis unit this afternoon,” said his press officer, Antoine De La Durantaye. It was agreed that the overcapacity plan is one of the measures that will be implemented in hospitals. »
In a word addressed to its members on Friday, the president of the College of Physicians of Quebec, Dr.r Mauril Gaudreault pleads in favor of the temporary implementation of a hospital overcapacity protocol.
“If we want to support emergency care teams and ensure access to care for patients, EVERYTHING must [en majuscule dans le texte] the hospital shares the risk of ER admissions,” he wrote.
“This overcapacity protocol, studied and implemented in several provinces, means that the overflow is no longer concentrated exclusively in the emergency room, but distributed throughout the hospital,” he continues. The emergency can then accommodate new patients whose condition is not yet stabilized. »
In his word, the Dr Gaudreault recalls that “one of the crux of the current crisis” is the fact that patients needing to be hospitalized are stuck in the emergency room, for lack of available places on the floors. “The Collège is concerned about the repercussions of this situation on access to care, on the safety of patients and doctors, and on the protection of the public”, points out its president.
The overcapacity plan is one of the solutions proposed to curb the current crisis, indicates the Dr Gaudreault. He also invites all doctors practicing in hospitals to get involved. “We must no longer dissociate the emergency from the hospital,” he writes. Everyone must lend a hand. It is a question of social responsibility. »
According to the Dr Gaudreault, studies show that “this protocol leads to an increase in the quality of care, a reduction in the length of the hospital stay of 24 hours or more, a reduction of nearly 50% in the number of patients admitted who stay in the emergency and a decrease in the number of patients leaving the hospital before seeing an emergency doctor”. “There is no increase in readmissions after 72 hours,” he adds.
The College of Physicians of Quebec declined our interview request.
The Regroupement des chefs d’urgence du Québec believes that emergencies do not have to be the only ones to find themselves in “overcapacity”. A little before 1 p.m. Friday, the stretcher occupancy rate exceeded 130% in the Montreal area.
Further details will follow.