Health minister asks for Quebecers' help to relieve overloaded ERs

Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé on Tuesday presented his plan to reduce overcrowding in the province's emergency rooms: the public should avoid going to them if they can.

Instead, patients should use their judgment and seek care elsewhere — such as from family medicine clinics, or clinics led by nurse practitioners — if they don't really need to go to the hospital.

"There is a large percentage of people who consult at the emergency department who don't have an urgent problem," Dubé told reporters in Montreal. "I'm not saying they're not worried, but they don't have an urgent problem."

Dubé said people can also call 811 to speak to a nurse and obtain an appointment at a medical clinic.

He made the announcement four days after a group representing chief doctors in the province's emergency departments sent a letter to him saying the situation in ERs is "out of control" due to overcrowding.

Dubé said the government is also taking steps to liberate beds in hospitals so patients can be transferred out of ERs.

Three emergency room doctors who spoke to The Canadian Press on Monday said the primary issue leading to overcrowding at Quebec hospitals is that ERs are struggling to transfer patients into hospital wards.

Health data website Index Santé said the average emergency department occupancy in Quebec was 131 per cent Tuesday afternoon. In Laval, north of Montreal, it was 182 per cent, while in the nearby Lanaudière region, it was 171 per cent.

Speaking at the same news conference as Dubé, Dr. Gilbert Boucher, president of the Quebec emergency medicine specialists association, said people with viral infections should care for themselves first before visiting the ER.

"I saw someone who was 25 years old, who had a fever, who was coughing, who had a sore throat and who went to emergency," he told reporters. "I'm asking you please, a bit of self-care, a bit of acetaminophen, a lot of liquid and rest."

Boucher said anyone unsure about whether they need to visit an ER should not feel guilty about visiting the hospital, but he suggested people think twice before calling 811 if they have a minor condition.

“We don’t have the resources. The viruses are here, they’re going to be getting worse over the next few weeks and if everybody who gets a virus starts calling 811, nobody will get access to the line,” he said. “Take care of yourself, most viruses will get better on their own."

Data from Quebec's Health Department shows that as of Dec. 18, the number of ER visits had risen about four per cent from the week before, averaging 9,479 per day over the previous seven days.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 19, 2023.