By François Laramée. From the Local Journalism Initiative
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Very bad news for residents of the South Shore, Pierre-Boucher Hospital in Longueuil is in the very unenviable list of the 10 hospitals in Quebec whose situation is very critical. The emergency is overflowing and cases of Covid-19 are multiplying, occupying at the same time beds usually occupied by non-Covid patients.
At a press conference on Friday before noon the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé explained that the increase in hospitalizations leads to the shedding of major interventions such as surgeries.
Needless to say, you should only go to the emergency room as a last resort.
In addition to the Pierre-Boucher hospital in Longueuil are found in the blacklist of the Chicoutimi Hospital, the CHUQ in Quebec, the Trois-Rivières Hospital, the Anna-Laberge Hospital in Chateauguay, the Lakeshore Hospital, the Verdun Hospital, the Hull Hospital, the University Institute of Cardiology and Pneumology of Quebec and the Center hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke.
The increase in hospitalizations is putting so much pressure on the network and on healthcare workers that the system cannot afford a surge in cases when it comes back from the holidays.
There are 2,164 beds reserved for patients with COVID-19 in Quebec and currently more than 1,000 of them are occupied. Ten days ago there was only half of it.
The minister also said that “If Quebecers do not respect the rules during the holidays, unfortunately, we will hit a wall in January”, a month which has historically seen emergencies overflowing on the South Shore.
Needless to say, the minister repeated the messages of caution while insisting on the critical Christmas period which is approaching or gatherings will remain prohibited.
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