MONTREAL — Quebec is experiencing serious overcrowding in its emergency rooms after the holidays, with some major hospitals in Montreal operating at more than 200 per cent capacity on Friday.
One emergency room physician in Montreal said the overcrowding is trending toward pre-pandemic levels, a situation he described as entirely predictable and preventable.
Dr. Mitch Shulman said pressure on hospitals always gets worse post-Christmas, but added that the provincial government hasn't done enough to inform people about the alternatives to ERs where they can seek care.
"Every year as we approach the holidays, people will do anything they can to stay at home for Christmas, which is understandable, it's a family holiday," Shulman, an attending physician at the Royal Victoria and Montreal General hospitals, said in an interview.
"And then what happens is starting on Boxing Day, people just start flooding the emergency room," coinciding with a period where few clinics and doctor's offices are open.
Around midday Friday, Montreal General Hospital was at 213 per cent ER capacity; the Jewish General Hospital was reporting 209 per cent capacity; and the Royal Victoria Hospital, part of the McGill University Health Centre, was listed at 203 per cent. The data is tracked by the Index Santé website, operated by ESG Média.
The average ER wait time across the province on Friday was five hours, and the average time patients spent on a stretcher was more than 16 hours.
Shulman believes the provincial government should better explain to people they can call the 811 health line with medical questions, or check if their pharmacist can help.
"You'd be amazed at the people that I see in the emergency room who have absolutely no idea that there are other resources, all they know about is the emerge, so they come in with a sore throat," Shulman said.
"A young healthy person does not need to see me in the emergency room with a sore throat."
Ahead of the holiday season, the provincial Health Department released a statement urging citizens to choose the right resource for their ailment. "Go to the emergency room only for serious situations, for example, if you have chest pain, difficulty breathing, or serious injuries," the Health Department said.
During previous spikes, officials have said that as many as 50 per cent of people who visited ERs were there for non-urgent cases. Shulman said that once a patient is registered at the ER, it's difficult to redirect them. He believes a targeted ad campaign could help resolve this issue.
"Look at all the money (the government wastes) on all sorts of ads, they couldn't spend that money explaining to people, both on radio, television and the printed media, that there are resources for them to use and explain how to access them? Make it easier for them to get help," he said.
Shulman expects the situation to persist. "About two weeks after you've been attending your Christmas party or your new year's party, all the respiratory viruses start circulating," Shulman said. And while respiratory syncytial virus, COVID-19, influenza, colds and strep throats are circulating, kids will return to class and another spike will come two weeks later, he said.
"For the next month or two, you're going to have an overwhelmed set of emergency rooms," Shulman said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 3, 2025.
Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press
