'There’s a whole chain reaction to this': doctor uneasy as ERs tip over capacity
Rising cases of COVID-19 and the seasonal flu are bogging down Quebec hospitals, and Dr. Christopher Labos is advising the province to take action before it’s too late.
Quebec’s emergency rooms are 97 per cent full province-wide, and many are already over capacity: Laval is at 104 per cent capacity, and both Monteregie and Montreal are at 111 per cent.
The Lakeshore Hospital and the Notre Hospital were beyond 160 per cent capacity on Monday.
“Emergency rooms work at high capacity at best of times — you throw in COVID and you throw in rising numbers of flu cases, it doesn’t take much to stretch capacity,” explains Labos, a cardiologist with a degree in epidemiology.
The spike in hospital visits comes as Quebec enters a sixth wave of COVID-19, one month after most health measures were relaxed.
On Friday, Health Minister Christian Dube said 13,000 health care workers are out of action because of the virus and anticipated a tough couple weeks ahead.
Labos warns restrictions may be necessary if this trend continues.
“As the situation worsens, [we] have to do more to fight against it. Because if we do nothing and let hospitalizations and ICU cases rise, that is eventually going to create a situation where we can’t deal with other stuff, and we have to start cancelling surgeries and other medical services like we did before.”
But after two years of pandemic restrictions, most people aren’t eager to have them re-imposed — and the government appears to feel the same.
The health minister is urging Quebecers to remain cautious ahead of holiday gatherings, but hasn’t indicated any health measures to come.
“I think people need to be conscious there is a risk, and when there is a risk it’s sometimes better to […] wait a couple weeks to see people,” said Dube.
Meanwhile, health and social services centres (CIUSSSs) have asked the population to limit ER visits as much as possible.
“When to go to the emergency room? Only if your health condition requires immediate care,” reads a statement on their Facebook page.
But as many gather over the Easter weekend, Labos says he’ll be watching the COVID-19 numbers in the days to come, bracing for a domino effect in hospitals.
“There’s a whole chain reaction to this, and we have to realize that it’s not good for healthcare to work full or over capacity, not the best way to provide quality care.”
With overcrowding in emergency rooms, doctors are warning that it could affect patient care.
"We always look at numbers but if you really look microscopically, you look at the people that are affected, the patients who end up staying longer in the emergency rooms not being able to get the care they need to get better," said McGill University Health Centre nurse Naveed Hussain.
"This exacerbates their condition, they get worse and they end up coming to the hospital floors sicker than they should have been."
Hussain said Quebec should make better use of community resources like CLSCs and the 811 Info-Santé line to steet patients who don't need emergency care away from the ER.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Guilty: Trump becomes first former U.S. president convicted of felony crimes
Donald Trump became the first former American president to be convicted of felony crimes Thursday as a New York jury found him guilty of all 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex.
Can Trump come to Canada now that he's a convicted felon?
A Canadian immigration lawyer says now that Donald Trump is a convicted felon, he is technically barred from crossing the border into Canada.
Montreal tech billionaire charged with several sex offences
Robert Miller was charged Thursday with several sexual assault charges after Montreal police reopened an investigation into the tech billionaire.
Police: 3 killed, including suspected gunman, in Minneapolis shooting
Three people, including the suspected gunman, are dead after a shooting Thursday at a Minneapolis apartment complex, police said.
'Why didn't they stop?' Mom asks of driver in hit-and-run crash that killed son
The mother of a 13-year-old boy who was killed in a hit-and-run in Edmonton is begging the driver to come forward.
The northern lights are returning to night skies across Canada this Friday
If you missed the brilliant displays of the aurora borealis over North America on May 10, you may have another chance to see them on Friday night.
A pair enjoyed pricey meals and bolted when it was time to pay. Their dine and dash ended in jail
A Welsh couple who dined out on pricey meals and bolted when the bill came is now paying the price, behind bars.
$400K in damages for B.C. woman who had unnecessary mastectomy was 'inordinately high,' court finds
A jury's award of $400,000 to a woman who had a mastectomy after being misdiagnosed with breast cancer has been substantially reduced by B.C.'s highest court, which found the damages were "wholly disproportionate."