TheThe occupancy rate of stretchers exceeds their capacity in most administrative regions. The situation is particularly critical in the northern and southern crowns of Montreal.
According to data available on the Health Index portal in the mid-afternoon on Saturday, the occupancy rates of stretchers reached 157% in Montérégie, 152% in the Laurentians and 177% in Lanaudière. In Mauricie, this rate was 112% in the Center of Quebec and 102% in Mauricie. However, the Health Index calculation includes the Center Cloutier-du-Rivage, which has not been an emergency for several months.
At the end of the afternoon, in the region, the occupancy rate of stretchers at the Center hospitalier affilié universitaire régional de Trois-Rivières (CHAUR) was 122%. While the establishment has 45 places in its operating license, 55 stretchers were occupied. At Center-de-la-Mauricie Hospital in Shawinigan, 20 people were bedridden on a stretcher, whereas the establishment normally has 19, for an occupancy rate of 105%. The Avelin-Dalcourt Service Center in Louiseville had seven patients for four stretchers, an occupancy rate of 175%. Finally, the Christ-Roy Center in Nicolet had eight people for six stretchers, a rate of 133%.
Only the Fortierville and La Tuque emergencies had an occupancy rate of less than 100%, with 50% and 14% respectively.
On the Laval side, the Cité-de-la-Santé Hospital had a rate of 151%.
In Montreal, the average was more like 133%, with a total of 64 patients waiting on a stretcher for more than 48 hours across the metropolis. Among the highest occupancy rates are those of the Jewish General Hospital at 221%; Lakeshore General Hospital, Pointe-Claire, 203%; the Douglas Institute, specialized in mental health, at 233%; and the Montreal Children’s Hospital at 192%.
In the Capitale-Nationale region, the worst occupancy rate was found at L’Enfant-Jésus Hospital, with 142%.
In a press release published at the start of the holiday season, Montreal health and social services establishments invited the population to be directed to the appropriate resources by Info-Santé nurses, who can be reached at 811, rather than go immediately to the emergency room.
The period from the end of December to the beginning of January, with its many festivities, is conducive to the spread of the flu and gastroenteritis – ailments which can more often than not be treated at home, it was recalled .
With The Canadian Press
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