Public urged to stay away from Lakeshore Hospital due to staff shortage

A West Island healthcare worker's union (SPSSODIM) is asking the public to avoid going to Lakeshore General Hospital in Pointe-Claire due to a lack of staff.

Union president Johanne Riendeau said in a press release that "half of the nurses are missing on several shifts."

This is not the first staff shortage at Lakeshore Hospital. In August 2020, the SPSSODIM also asked the population to visit other emergency rooms in the region for similar reasons.

"It is no longer possible for us to provide safe, quality care to the population normally served by our facility," Riendeau said.

By Friday evening, the hospital's occupancy rate was 126 per cent. 18 people had been waiting for at least 24 hours on a stretcher and nine had been waiting 48 hours.

The occupancy rate is also alarming elsewhere in Montreal. On Friday night, the Index Santé website showed the Royal Victoria hospital had an occupancy rate of 155 per cent and the Jewish General Hospital a rate of 187.

The SPSSODIM also said healthcare workers are apprehensive about the summer season.

It's calling on the government to put in place "incentives to get through the summer and obtain safe ratios to provide quality care to the population of the West Island."

The West Island CIUSSS, which oversees Lakeshore Hospital, indicates on its website that there are other alternatives to the emergency room, such as consulting one's neighbourhood pharmacist or calling 811.

The LaSalle and Lachine hospitals, also served by the West Island CIUSSS, had occupancy rates of around 60 per cent Friday evening.

This report was first published in French by The Canadian Press on June 10, 2022.