Laurentians doctor raises concerns over ER overcrowding in Quebec hospitals

Quebec's emergency rooms, relatively empty during the height of the pandemic, have filled up again, with many above their capacity.

Wait times were manageable in recent months as many Quebecers stayed away for fear of being infected with COVID-19, said Dr. Simon-Pierre Landry, who works emergency room in Ste-Agathe-des-Monts and is a family physician in Mont-Tremblant, in the Laurentians.

Now, with cases in decline and the province reopening, more people are heading to the ER when they need medical help Landry said. He told Quebec AM it won't take much to tip the capacity scale in the average regional network if and when a second wave of COVID-19 hits.

Or, he said, when flu season starts.

"My concern is in January when influenza will hit, and when we may have another wave of COVID," he said.

The health directory site Index Sant compiles average wait times in emergency rooms around the province, including data on how many people are on gurneys.

In regions like Chaudire-Appalaches, Quebec City, and the Mauricie, a number of the major hospitals are operating at 80 and 90 per cent capacity, while in the Laurentians and the Eastern Townships, five out of six regional hospitals far exceed 100 per cent capacity.

Landry said the reopening of the province has meant an increase in summer sports injuries and in vehicle collisions when people drive to and from work.

He also said patients with chronic health problems who have not been regularly seeing their family physician during the pandemic are at risk of escalating issues that can land them in the ER.

"Sometimes what can be a quick fix in a family practitioner's office becomes something much more complicated that needs admission to the hospital," he said.

Landry said it's normal to have lots of out-of-towners making emergency room visits during the summer in cottage country, but although the number of patients is normal compared to last year, the hospital's capacity is lower than it was before the pandemic.

The doctor likened it to hairdressers not being able to serve as many clients because of new disinfection measures and PPE requirements.

"All these measures, basically what they do is they slow down the emergency room, so we can treat less patients than we used to," Landry said. "This is a concern."

He said the government needs to prepare, because it's not a question of if a second wave of COVID-19, coupled with flu season, will hit, it's when.

Landry said hospitals should also prepare themselves without waiting to hear from the ministry, because they are responsible for their communities.

Health minister says government is working on a plan

Quebec's new health minister, Christian Dub, said he's seen the numbers at many of the province's regional hospitals, and that they're understandable given many Quebecers feel more comfortable going to the hospital now than they did a few months ago.

"Now that there is a sense of confidence and I'm quoting sometimes a false sense of confidence people are coming back to the emergency," he said. "So it's normal in the short term that we see this increase."

He said the government is committed to working on a clear plan to avoid hospitals becoming overloaded.