It’s only one week into the new year and already Quebec emergency rooms are being pushed to the brink, as overcrowding throughout hospitals has forced the province to issue a plea for residents to stay home unless it’s absolutely necessary.
The Quebec government asked people with minor illnesses to access healthcare by other means, as they do not require the level of care of an emergency room.
Healthcare policy experts are saying this is a problem of the government’s own creation, however.
“It’s no secret, wait times have long been a feature of our government-run healthcare monopoly, and it is everyday Quebecers that are paying for it through increased stress and prolonged suffering,” said Renaud Brossard, vice-president of communications at the Montreal Economic Institute, a Montreal-based think tank.
“It’s high time the government realizes that access to a waiting list isn’t the same as access to health care, and lets independent clinics and hospitals open up so they can lend a hand to our ailing government-run health system.”
The situation is most crucial in Montreal, where three hospitals were faced with double the capacity that their emergency rooms can handle.
The occupancy rate averaged 158% for the city, while three of Montreal’s busiest ERs; The Jewish General, Lakeshore and LaSalle hospitals, all peaked at over 200%.
Colin Craig of SecondStreet.org, a policy think tank that does a lot of work on healthcare wait times, said at a bare minimum, government need to make sure Canadians are informed about the options that are out there for care.
“This has been a known problem for years, but I don’t think governments have done enough to educate Canadians about this problem,” Craig said.
“Part of the problem seems to be that many patients in Canada go to the emergency room for everything, but it’s really meant for serious problems like heart attacks, strokes, etc. If you have something minor like a bad sore throat, you should instead visit an urgent care facility or walk-in clinic. That would take pressure off of emergency rooms.”
Prior to the Christmas holidays, the average occupancy rates were below 100% for the first time since Nov. 12, 2023, according to Global News.
