Emergency rooms in Montreal and surrounding areas continue to overflow. The influenza virus is spreading and will peak in a few weeks. According to Santé Québec, Montreal and “450” hospitals are congested due in particular to the increase in the population and its aging.
Posted at 3:52 p.m.
“Customers have complex needs that require us to take more time to diagnose and treat them,” says Frédéric Abergel, executive vice-president of operations and transformation at Santé Québec. Population growth is a real challenge for our emergency rooms. »
The state-owned company presented its second weekly assessment of the emergency situation in the province on Friday.
The average occupancy rate on stretchers in Montreal stood at 138% between December 31 and January 13, compared to 137% for the same period last year. It reached 142% for the regions of Lanaudière, Laurentides, Montérégie and Laval (150% last year). The provincial average was 121% (126% last year).
To reduce pressure on emergencies, Santé Québec asks the population to consult their pharmacist or doctor in the event of non-urgent problems. “If we want to lower the curve, each of us must really act,” said Frédéric Abergel.
No winter clinics
Santé Québec will not open winter clinics to reduce traffic in emergency rooms. “We made the decision this fall not to have winter clinics throughout Quebec, but to keep truly dedicated clinics for all symptoms,” explains Frédéric Abergel. This allowed us to be much more flexible in responding to demand. »
Santé Québec indicates that the offer of “reorientation” medical consultations – intended for patients coming from emergencies, 811 and 911 – increased by 38% from December 28 to January 12, compared to the same period last year. last. Medical appointments offered at the front line access counter (GAP) increased by 6%.
But the slots displayed on appointment portals and in clinics decreased by 17% and 14% respectively during the same period, according to Santé Québec. Ultimately, the number of consultations offered fell by 12% compared to last year. Not necessarily easy, therefore, to find a consultation, even if you have a family doctor.
-“We are not in silos,” explains Frédéric Abergel. Every week, every day, every region is able to decide [et de se dire] “there may be appointments not used directly in the patient portals, we will redirect them to emergency rooms or 811”, or vice versa. »
Free up beds
Hospital congestion remains the main problem, according to the Association of Emergency Physicians of Quebec (AMUQ). Many patients remain stuck in emergency rooms due to lack of space on the floors. Hospitalization beds are occupied by people waiting for a place in CHSLD or rehabilitation, for example.
“In the emergency room, we have P3 and P2 patients [priorités 3 et 2, des cas considérés semi-urgents et urgents] who normally would have had access to a stretcher most of the time and there, do not have access to it”, deplores the president of the AMUQ, the Dre Marie-Maud Couture.
These patients remain on a chair in the waiting room. “Not only is it uncomfortable, it is not quality care, but it is not safe care,” she believes.
Solutions
Santé Québec says it is working with health establishments to reduce hospital congestion by ensuring, for example, that requests for admission to CHSLDs are made seven days a week, and not just from Monday to Friday.
“It may seem trivial [qu’il n’y en ait] maybe not on weekends, but if you have a person waiting from a hospital bed to a nursing home on Friday, now in some places they may be admitted on Saturday or Sunday, whereas it would have waited until Monday or Tuesday,” says Frédéric Abergel.
The Dre Couture would like to know how many beds are closed in the network and if hospitals are – as recommended by the emergency crisis unit – “overcapacity” on the floors (installing patients in the corridors). She questions the impact on hospitals of achieving the balanced budget required by Santé Québec.
“There are a lot of budget cuts, is that slowing down the disinfection of rooms to have faster access? »
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