Quebec health minister asks Quebecers to stay away from ERs — if they can

Days away from the holiday season, the Quebec government is asking for the co-operation of Quebecers to do what they can to "reduce the pressure on emergency rooms," many of which have exceeded 100 per cent capacity.

"There is a big portion of the people going to emergency rooms that don't have urgent issues," Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé told journalists Tuesday afternoon.

Dubé said Quebecers who are concerned about their health but aren't seriously sick should be seeking alternatives like calling 811, receiving care at home and consulting pharmacists.

The winter is going to be a challenge because of respiratory viruses, health-care worker strikes, an uptick in COVID-19 cases, hospital understaffing and staff vacations, the minister said.

"The situation over the next few weeks will deteriorate," said Dubé. 

According to the minister, the government is working on freeing up hospital beds so that some patients crowding into emergency rooms can be admitted. Altogether, he said 1,000 beds need to be liberated to relieve that pressure and the government has purchased 200 spaces in residential homes to place patients, with another 300 in the works

At the same time, Dubé said the recently adopted health-care reform legislation, known as Bill 15, will soon empower managers to implement best-practices changes across the health system. 

The government is also asking Quebecers to stay away from family gatherings — especially if they include people who are vulnerable to infection — if they have a fever and to wear a mask until symptoms disappear.

It's encouraging Quebecers to get up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines, especially those who have never received the jab.

Quebec's public health director, Dr. Luc Boileau, said some 50,000 Quebecers are catching the virus every day, while influenza cases are rising quickly. On the other hand, he said cases of respiratory syncytial virus — or RSV — may only start to decline in the new year. 

"It's been very hard for the last four to six weeks," said Dr. Gilbert Boucher, president of the Association des spécialistes en médecine d'urgence du Québec and an emergency room physician at the Montreal Heart Institute. 

Although Boucher admits that it's easier to get evaluated in person, he is urging people to stay at home and speak with a health-care provider over the phone unless there is a real emergency — and then only if they are really concerned about their health. 

"We know the lines are really, really busy right now and even some patients are [unable] to talk to somebody because it's so busy. We're addressing the issue. We're working on it. The ministry wants to improve the service, but also we need people to call less."

Hospital capacity in the red

On Saturday, the Regroupement des chefs d'urgence du Québec, a group representing the heads of the province's emergency departments sent a letter to the Quebec health minister saying the situation in ERs was "out of control." 

The stretcher occupancy rates across Quebec's regions paint the picture of a province whose emergency rooms are running out of space.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the average occupancy rate in Montreal was at 147 per cent, according to Index Santé. The occupancy rate at the Jewish General Hospital was 217 per cent. The Royal Victoria Hospital was at 176 per cent and the Lakeshore General Hospital was at 155 per cent.

In Laval, Que., the average hospital occupancy rate was 178 per cent.

In the Montérégie region of Quebec, the average was 157 per cent. The Hôtel-Dieu-de-Sorel hospital was at 200 per cent occupancy. The average in the Laurentians was 161 per cent, with Saint-Eustache hospital at 184 per cent.

The Lanaudière region had the highest average of all the regions at 184 per cent. The Lanaudière hospital was at 230 per cent.

Meanwhile the Sainte-Croix Hospital in the Centre-du-Québec region was at 184 per cent and the Brome-Missisquoi-Perkins Hospital in the Eastern Townships was at 163 per cent.