2024-01-10 23:03:15
The Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, affirms that the situation “will continue to be difficult in emergencies in Quebec”, where the number of visits has increased by 10% compared to the same period last year.
During a press briefing where he took stock of the situation in emergencies over the last 14 days, Minister Dubé also showed concern about the age of patients who present themselves in emergency rooms and their older age. great vulnerability.
We went from 9,000 to 10,000 emergency room visits per day on average in the last 14 days, so we have 1,000 more visits per day than we had at the same period last year. And out of these 10,000 [nouveaux patients]there are 1,600 who are over 75 years old, which represents an additional difficulty of cases, because people are more vulnerable, he explained.
The minister said he wanted to reduce the emergency attendance rate for so-called P4 or P5 patients, that is to say those who could be treated elsewhere. This would allow P1 or P2 cases, i.e. priority cases, to be treated more quickly and more effectively by healthcare staff.
A “dysfunctional” situation
President of the Association of Specialists in Emergency Medicine and emergency physician at the Montreal Heart Institute, Dr. Gilbert Boucher took advantage of the meeting with the press to illustrate the situation in emergencies, both in terms of waiting times on stretchers only for employee shifts.
On the day of January 10, 35 of the 114 emergencies in Quebec had an occupancy rate of at least 150%, according to data compiled by Radio-Canada. This figure is feared by Dr Boucher, who affirmed in 2022 that it corresponds to a dysfunction of emergencies.
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The occupancy rate exceeded 100%, even 150%, in several regions of Quebec, notably in Montreal and its suburbs.
Photo: Ministry of Health and Social Services
When you hit 150%, you have to understand that everything becomes dysfunctional. The corridors are becoming full, the examination rooms are full, he explained at the time.
As for current conditions, he says delays are getting longer for patients on stretchers and emergency room staff are having to work longer shifts.
There are no more [quarts] of 8 hours: it’s [quarts] from 10 to 12 hours. It’s not easy for patients either: it’s no longer 2, 4 or 6 hours of waiting, it’s 6, 12, 18 and even 24 hours of waiting. The next few weeks are going to be difficult and, at present, there are 60% of our beds occupied by 1,000 patients sleeping in our emergency rooms, argues Dr. Boucher.
The effect of respiratory viruses
The Minister of Health also noted that there are almost twice as many patients who end up in the emergency room due to respiratory viruses.
This time last year, there were 1,000 people going to the emergency room for respiratory viruses. For the last 14-day period, there were 1,900 for different respiratory viruses other than COVID-19, such as influenza, underlined Mr. Dubé.
Like Minister Dubé, Dr. Boucher specifies that the influenza peak was taking shape a little before Christmas and really took off between Christmas and New Year’s Day. He explains that it was much easier to manage the situation last year since the peak took place towards the end of November when all the teams were present, unlike this year, where there were fewer resources available in the emergencies.
More generally, the national director of public health, Dr. Luc Boileau, maintains that the trend is upward for the number of hospitalizations caused by influenza in Quebec in recent weeks, unlike those caused by COVID and by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which have stabilized.
The flu continues to rise. We will probably reach our peak during the month of January, but it is certain that the period will be difficult. Emergencies are still [dans un état] particularly critical and we anticipate that it could last a significant part of the winter beyond the month of January, specified Mr. Boileau, adding that the number of cases should still decrease in January.
He mentioned that there is a new school year at the moment and that it is a favorable time for the circulation of respiratory viruses. We must not let our guard down: winter has begun and it could be longer if we do not adopt good prevention reflexes, he recalled, emphasizing in particular the effectiveness of vaccination.
Lack of beds in Quebec
One of the solutions recently adopted by the Ministry of Health consisted of adding 500 beds for patients who no longer need to be in hospital in the Chaudière-Appalaches and Capitale-Nationale regions.
For the president of the Association of Emergency Physicians of Quebec and emergency physician, Dr. Judy Morris, this solution was the only feasible one in the short term in a context where the network is stretched to the maximum, almost at all times.
When compared to other similar countries, our capacity is lower in terms of long-term care and hospital beds. More capacity is needed in the network, but it’s difficult to do quickly, so short-term solutions are needed to give emergencies a break, she explains.
She mentions that a broader reflection on the use of hospitals should be carried out to avoid this type of scenario.
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