Traffic was considered “high” and “very high” in 11 regions of Quebec on Sunday afternoon, and only four had a “normal” rate.
According to the Index Santé website, which monitors and reports occupancy rates and waiting times in Quebec emergency rooms, the average occupancy rate as of September 1 at around 5 p.m. was 106%. The trend is slightly similar to the data from the last ten days, which range from 101% to 114%.
Among the 15 regions listed, five have a “high” occupancy rate and six “very high”. The Laurentians (150%), Lanaudière (145%), Laval (133%), Montérégie (132%), Montreal (113%) and Outaouais (108%) are the most affected regions.
In total, 27 hospitals in Quebec had an occupancy rate of more than 120%.
This is particularly the case at the Lakeshore General Hospital in Montreal, where the occupancy rate reached 184%, while the average length of stay for people in the waiting room was 11 hours 39 minutes. The situation is no better at the Barrie Memorial Hospital in Montérégie (180%), at the Saint-Jérôme Hospital (174%) or at the Lanaudière Hospital and Parphilia-Ferland Residential Centre (167%).
Alternatives to emergency
Due to the current high occupancy rate at the Hôpital du Suroît (128%), the CISSS de la Montérégie-Ouest has invited the population “with minor health problems” to opt for solutions other than going to the emergency room, in a message published on social networks.
The CISSS also reminds people of the existence of the website www.urgenceoupas.ca to find out about the different alternative solutions. “Anyone in a critical and unstable situation should not hesitate to go to the emergency room,” it was specified.
