To avoid the worst in January, public health is asking for the cooperation of the population on the eve of the holiday parties.
“Help us, otherwise we’ll hit a wall,” said Côte-Nord public health director Dr. Richard Fachehoun on Friday.
Emergency rooms in Sept-Îles and Baie-Comeau have exceeded 200% occupancy for several weeks. Many patients are waiting to be relocated to resources more appropriate to their condition, such as a CHSLD.
Due to a lack of available places, they stay in the emergency room and occupy beds. Combined with the resurgence of respiratory viruses, the situation is paralyzing access to acute care for the population.
“The pressure is enormous for our teams, the work environments are not perfectly adequate,” said the director of professional services and university education, Dr. Jean-François Labelle.
In Sept-Îles, 27 beds are occupied by patients awaiting relocation. In Baie-Comeau 32. These establishments have created 11 and 20 overcapacity beds respectively in an attempt to continue to offer services.
“We have an aging population on the North Shore and limited resources. We don’t have many private promoters who are able to offer places for beds,” explained Dr. Labelle.
The approximately 70 new places created in recent years to accommodate these people have not been enough.
“Despite everything, the lack of resources means that people have no place to go. There is a lack of places in CHSLDs, intermediate residences or for the elderly. We end up with a deficit and we have to be realistic, we know that over time these needs increase, since the population is aging,” he added.
Like everywhere in Quebec, the North Shore is trying to increase the capacity to keep people at home safely to solve the problem.
Better options than ER
“There is an overcrowding of consultations in the emergency room, because people have respiratory concerns. Several cases could have been resolved other than by going there,” said Dr. Labelle.
He invites people to consult 8-1-1 first in order to be referred to the right resources. Otherwise, to make an appointment with a family doctor, or to use the first-line access counter (GAP) for those who do not have one.
“We are able to manage 75% of requests without referring them to the emergency room,” he said.
Hand washing, wearing a mask in busy public places and isolation in the event of symptoms and up-to-date vaccination remain the means to be recommended to avoid the worst, says public health.