MONTREAL – Emergencies were overflowing on Saturday due to the flu season, which is in full swing, with 11 of 16 regions in Belle Province affected by occupancy rates rated as “high” to “very high”.
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This was the case on the island of Montreal, with an average occupancy of stretchers reaching 132% in the early afternoon, according to data provided by the Health Index site.
The Douglas Mental Health University Institute (233%) was at the top in terms of the number of emergency hospital patients, followed by the Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital (225%) and the General Hospital Lakeshore (197%).
To a lesser extent, the emergencies of the Montreal Children’s Hospital (158%), the Royal Victoria Hospital (142%), the St. Mary’s Hospital Center (136%), the Santa Cabrini Hospital ( 134%), LaSalle Hospital (133%), Verdun Hospital (131%), Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital (128%) and CHUM (122%) also sought their staff.
“The flu period has started, there is a peak that is still going on. For flu, however, emergency is not the option to recommend, “said Pierre-Paul Milette, who is assistant general manager general and specialized physical health and director of multidisciplinary services at the Integrated University Center for Health and Services Social (CIUSSS) of Center-Sud-de-l’île-de-Montréal.
“The message we send to the population is to always wash your hands when you are with several people. There are also a lot of people with lung problems who end up in the emergency room as well as cases of gastroenteritis, “added the emergency specialist.
“This year is hell again,” said Simon-Pierre Landry, an emergency doctor at the Laurentian Hospital in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, in the Laurentians.
“We reached above 200% of stretcher occupancy this week. That means there were people everywhere in the corridors on stretchers, “he explained in an interview with TVA Nouvelles, adding that waiting times could range from 12 to 20 hours for less urgent cases .
“The problem is that we see the wave coming, but we do nothing. The wave hits us every year and it looks like every time we say, “See you next year,” “added Dr. Landry.
Critical situation elsewhere in Greater Montreal
Around Montreal, occupancy rates on stretchers were also problematic on Saturday afternoon in hospitals in Lanaudière (178%), Laurentides (155%), Laval (155%) and Montérégie (163%).
The situation was not much better in the Capitale-Nationale (112%), Center-du-Québec (109%), Chaudière-Appalaches (121%), Estrie (124%), Mauricie (117%) and Outaouais (123%).
Five less stressed regions
At the other end of the spectrum, the regions of Abitibi-Témiscamingue (86%), Bas-Saint-Laurent (56%), Côte-Nord (83%), Gaspésie-Îles-de- la-Madeleine (59%) and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean (67%) fared better on Saturday afternoon in their emergencies. The latter thus had a situation deemed “normal” by Index Santé.
Call 811 or go to a super-clinic
Before going to the emergency room, a front-line service that should be reserved in priority for acute cases, Pierre-Paul Milette recommends that patients contact 811 so that a nurse can assess their situation and guide them to the appropriate resources. .
“People can see their family doctor, there are urgent appointments within 24 hours. For those who do not have a family doctor, there are super-clinics or winter clinics, whose hours are now extended from [de samedi]. There are many cases that don’t require the hospital environment. “
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