MONTREAL - Montreal hospitals continue to struggle with an overload of patients as the city suffers from a dual outbreak of gastroenteritis and influenza.
In what has become an annual event, wait times at Montreal-area hospitals have been very long since the Christmas holidays began.
Emergency rooms in the city were operating at 136 per cent capacity on Thursday. A day earlier, they were at 150 per cent.
Montreal's public health protection department said there's no sign right now of the pandemic strain H1N1. Instead, officials said it's a regular seasonal flu, which can still be dangerous for high-risk patients, such as seniors and babies.
But doctors say systemic problems are also to blame for the troubles in the city's emergency rooms.
Dr. Joe Nemeth, who works at the Children's Hospital, told CTV Montreal the backlog was made worse because many pediatricians and family doctor take a vacation over Christmas.
Nemeth added that many people waiting in the emergency room shouldn't be there.
He said that up to 70 percent of children would be better off at home.
"Obviously a fever in a child that's vomiting, dehydrated, has an altered level of consciousness, not bright, should be seen here, but fever alone is not a reason to come to the emergency room," Nemeth said.
Jewish General latest to impose restrictions
On Thursday, the Jewish General Hospital became the latest in Montreal to take hard-line measures to limit the spread of infection.
Faced with a rash of patients being treated for influenza, the hospital began restricting patients to one visitor at a time.
In addition, anyone feeling sick and wishes to visit a patient is being asked not to enter the building.
Those that do go enter are being asked to wash their hands immediately.
The Emergency Room at the Jewish General is one of several around Montreal that are overcrowded.
Montreal's Health Agency says emergency rooms at the Lakeshore, Royal Victoria, Montreal General, and the Santa Cabrini are in the worst shape.
If it's not an urgent medical problem, public health officials recommend seeking treatment from a family physician or local clinic (CLSC) first, and if in doubt, calling Info-Sante at 811 to get medical advice from a nurse.
