MONTREAL -- The pressure that COVID-19 is putting on Quebec hospital emergency rooms is being felt mainly in Montérégie, Montreal, Quebec and the Outaouais, say health authorities.
A Monday update by the province's Health Index service on ER occupancy rates showed overflows in six of the eight hospitals in Montérégie. The rate for the entire region was 120 per cent of capacity, and at the Haut-Richelieu Hospitalit was 135 per cent.
As of Monday, there are 49 patients who have been on a stretcher for at least 48 hours in Montérégie.
On the Island of Montreal, the average occupancy rate of emergency rooms was measured at 92 per cent. At the Lakeshore General Hospital it was 132 per cent, and at the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, 126 per cent.
The Health Index reported that at the Jewish General Hospital, 43 patients on stretchers had been there for at least 48 hours.
In the Quebec City region, overflows were especially notable at the Hôpital de l'Enfant-Jésus at 113 per cent.
In the Outaouais, only the ER of the Hull Hospital (124 per cent) was very busy.
Finally, in the Lanaudière region, the ER of the Pierre-Le-Gardeur Hospital was 111 per cent occupied, while the Cité de la Santé de Laval's was at 96 per cent.
In the other regions of Quebec, the occupancy rates of hospital ERs were as follows: 88 per cent in the Côte-Nord, 75 per cent in Estrie, 65 per cent in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, 58 per cent in Bas-Saint -Laurent, 56 per cent in Mauricie, 35 per cent in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean and 32 per cent in Gaspésie.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 7, 2020.
