MONTREAL -- A significant amount of people headed to hospital emergency rooms (ER) across Quebec over the holidays, according to a report released Friday by Index-Santé.

ERs in 11 of Quebec’s 16 regions faced an average rate of more than 100 per cent.

At the 21 emergency rooms on the Island of Montreal, just three were at less than 100 per cent occupancy.

The highest percentages were at the Lakeshore General Hospital (152 per cent), the Jewish General Hospital (175 per cent) and the Verdun Hospital (150 per cent).

More than 20 people laid on stretchers for more than 24 hours at the Royal Victoria Hospital (152 per cent). The same is true for 15 others at both the Montreal General Hospital (129 per cent) and the Santa Cabrini Hospital (118 per cent).

The Montreal Children's Hospital was at 142 per cent capacity, while Sainte-Justine Hospital was at 88 per cent.In the Lanaudière and Laurentides regions, seven of the eight emergency rooms overflowed with patients. In fact, occupancy reached 220 per cent at the Mont-Laurier Hospital.

The average rate at the eight emergency rooms in the Montérégie sat at 142 per cent.

The worst overflows were at the Anna-Laberge Hospital (175 per cent) in Châteauguay and the Suroît Regional Hospital (181 per cent) in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield.

In Quebec City, the overflows were the worst at l'Enfant-Jésus Hospital (163 per cent), Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré Hospital ((125 per cent), the Laval University Hospital Centre (135 per cent), the Hotel Dieu Hospital of Lévis (149 per cent) and the Saint-Georges Hospital (167 per cent) in the Beauce.

Five of the eight emergency rooms in the Eastern Townships and four in the Outaouais had an occupancy rate of more than 100 per cent.

The overflows were significant at the Brome-Missisquoi-Perkins Hospital (131 per cent) in Cowansville, the Maniwaki Hospital (133 per cent) and the Hull Hospital (164 per cent) in Gatineau.

However, capacity rates were at less than 100 per cent, on average, in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Bas-Saint-Laurent, Gaspésie and Côte-Nord regions. It sat at 105 per cent in Mauricie. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 3, 2020.