Quebec Emergency Rooms Are Overflowing As The Holidays Approach, The COVID Spikes

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As Christmas approaches and the number of COVID-19 cases increases, the emergency rooms of Quebec hospitals are facing an increase in traffic.

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According to him Health index website , which regularly publishes updates on the occupancy of Quebec’s emergency rooms, the period between December 11 and 20 saw those emergency rooms reach an average occupancy rate of 100 percent, a finding that increased to 101 percent. hundred early on Tuesday.

Occupancy rates were normal on Tuesday morning in the Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean, Bas-Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie – Îles-de-la-Madeleine regions. But three other regions reported working at more than 140% of capacity.

In the Lanaudière region, the Center hospitalier régional de Lanaudière and the Pierre-Le-Gardeur Hospital recorded occupancy rates of 173% and 167%, respectively.

Five of the six Laurentian hospitals were operating at more than 100% capacity, and the St-Jérôme, Laurentien and Saint-Eustache hospitals reported rates ranging from 134% to 172%.

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The average occupancy rate in the Montérégie region was 140%, rising to 184% at the Suroît Hospital, 173% at the Honoré-Mercier Hospital and 171% at the Pierre-Boucher Hospital. In the last two cases, 17 patients had been on stretchers for at least 48 hours.

On the island of Montreal eight emergency rooms were working beyond capacity. The Fleury and Sacré-Coeur hospitals were the most active, with rates of 141% and 133% respectively.

In Quebec City, the problem was most problematic in the Saint-François-d’Assise and l’Enfant-Jésus hospitals, where the rates were 115% and 110% respectively.

Elsewhere in Quebec, the highest occupancy rates were 240% at the Le Royer Hospital in Baie-Comeau, 132% at the Center-de-la-Mauricie Hospital and 126% at the Sainte-Croix Hospital. of Drummondville.

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Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé said on Monday that the explosive outbreak of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 could result in the redeployment of hospital services to cope with the increase in cases.

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