The Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, must provide an update Tuesday afternoon on the situation in Quebec’s emergencies in view of the holiday period.
The stretcher occupancy rate exceeded 125% in several hospitals in the province on Tuesday morning, according to Index Santé.
The situation seemed more critical in certain regions, such as Lanaudière and the Laurentians where establishments had an occupancy rate of more than 200%.
“As the holidays approach, the pressure is high on our emergencies. I will take stock […] on the importance of good practices,” Mr. Dubé wrote on the X platform on Monday evening.
The Regroupement des chefs d’urgence du Québec questioned the minister last weekend about the situation which “has deteriorated dramatically” and which has become “out of control” in the emergency rooms of the province’s hospitals.
In a letter intended for the CAQ elected official and reported by various media, the group decried the “inertia” of the government while “the crisis is only getting worse”.
Mr. Dubé will also provide an update on vaccination during Tuesday’s press conference.
He must be accompanied by the national director of public health, Dr Luc Boileau, and the president of the Association of Emergency Medicine Specialists of Quebec and emergency physician at the Montreal Heart Institute, Dr Gilbert Boucher.