Pediatric 811 line now available throughout Quebec
Quebec Health Minister Christian Dube said the pediatric health 811 line is now expanded to the entire province.
Dube made the announcement when addressing the state of the province's emergency rooms heading into the holiday season.
The health line was previously only available in the Greater Montreal Area to relieve pressure on the overtaxed ERs in the area. The program was extended to Quebec City and elsewhere in the province.
Dube said each time the ministry introduced the 811 line, numbers in ERs went down.
He said the policy is here to stay and will be expanded.
"It's important," said Dube. "Today we're answering the phone, in a few months we'll do it on Facetime."
After that, Dube said it would function similar to the Clic-Sante online portals.
Dube said the combination of measures is making a difference.
"Today, we still are at roughly 10,000 visits in emergency rooms in all Quebec," he said. "This is the same volume that we had last year, but in a different context, we have three viruses [RSV, COVID-19 and influenza]."
Dube said the ministry continues to ask retired nurses to return to answer the 811 lines. He said the program has already added 80 new employees.
ERs OVER CAPACITY
According to Index Sante, Montreal's ERs are currently operating at 125 per cent capacity, and across the province, hospitals are at 120 per cent.
The most taxed ERs in the province are the Pontiac Hospital (225 per cent), Mont-Laurier Hospital (220 per cent), and the CLSC Saint-Marc-des-Carrieres (200 per cent).
Sixty-two other hospitals in Quebec are operating at or over 100 per cent capacity, according to the site.
The health ministry recently opened its fifth specialized nurse-led clinic in Laval to relieve pressure on hospital ERs, and there are three clinics already open in Montreal and one in Saguenay.
- Listen on CJAD 800: A South Shore pediatric clinic is treating urgent medical cases free of charge
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Family of toddler found dead at small-town Ont. daycare no closer to answers after year of investigation
A year has passed since two-year-old Vienna Irwin was found on the property of a home-based daycare in small-town Ontario, but her family says they are no closer to answers of what happened that day.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
Humboldt Broncos crash victims and families react to decision to deport truck driver
The family of one of the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018 says they are 'thankful' for a decision by a Calgary immigration board to deport the driver of the truck involved.
Fatal plane crash reported near Squamish, B.C.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has confirmed it is working with local Mounties and the BC Coroners Service after a plane crash near Squamish, B.C. Friday night.
'God forgives but we don’t': Loud outburst from stabbing victim’s family during sentencing hearing
An emotional outburst in a London, Ont. courtroom Friday disrupted the sentencing hearing of a woman who pleaded guilty for her part in the death of 29-year-old Mohammed Abdallah.
Three dead after vehicle plunged down a 100-foot embankment in Shediac, N.B.
Three people have died after a vehicle veered off the road in Shediac N.B., Friday morning.
Appeal denied for Edmonton soldier accused of trying to kill her 3 children
An Edmonton woman found guilty of trying to kill her three children has been denied an appeal.