Thanks to new data released today by the government, Quebecers can now know how long they will wait in the emergency room.
A new website, which is constantly updated, shows how many people are waiting in the emergency rooms of all hospitals in the province and how long they spend in the waiting room on average. This new, more accurate data should help patients to decide between an emergency or an alternative solution.
The seven indicators that citizens can consult, taking the example of La Sarre Hospital in Abitibi.
In a few weeks, data on the average time before a doctor sees an emergency room and the wait time on the 811 phone line will be added to guide sick Quebecers.
“I don’t want to say that things are going well in the emergency room and I hesitate to say that things are going better, but it is certain that we are seeing an improvement,” Health Minister Christian Dubé assured an interview with the newspaper.
Previously, patients had to rely on the utilization of the stretchers, which did not take into account the outpatients, i.e. the people present in the emergency room who went to the doctor without being admitted to the doctor.
“The ambulance makes up two-thirds of the volume. Most of them [des patients] don’t land on a stretcher and don’t wait 15 hours,” explains Mr. Dubé.
crisis team
Three months after its establishment, the minister draws a positive balance of the crisis management team, which was set up to help overwhelmed emergencies.
This fall, labor shortages coupled with respiratory viruses have devastated hospitals.
“The only place you can’t close is the ER. But we can close beds on floors or delay surgeries,” he explains.
Therefore, a hospital that exceeds its emergency room capacity may delay surgeries to keep beds on the floor and reduce stretcher waits. The departure time of specialists from the hospital is monitored, since patients often wait for their visit on stretchers.
“Fluidity Managers” now establish the connection between the emergency room and the floors. From December to January, outpatient visits to the emergency room increased from 7,500 to 5,600 daily and the wait time decreased by one hour from 3:12 a.m. to 2:16 a.m.
The worst is over
“As a user, I think the worst is over [dans les urgences]but for our employees no,” admits the minister, who ensures recruitment is a priority.
The president of the Quebec Association of Emergency Medicine Specialists, Gilbert Boucher, notes an improvement and adds that the viruses are circulating less.
According to him, this new data will help citizens choose their emergency and better balance the healthcare grid.
►Emergency data is available at: quebec.ca/situationurgences
Surgical Crisis Cell
Minister Christian Dubé is considering a crisis team, similar to the emergency call, in order to shorten the enormous waiting time before the operation.
As of December 31, nearly 164,000 people were still awaiting surgery in Quebec.
That is even more than the 145,000 people waiting when the minister announced that he wanted to catch up by June 2023.
“We’re not there right now, not at all,” agrees Mr. Dubé.
He intends to release data on CISSS and CIUSSS delays soon to get a more accurate picture of the situation, he continues.
“The crisis team did its job [pour les urgences] and we need to repeat that success,” he said.
TWO BILLS IN FEBRUARY
Minister Dubé intends to introduce two bills in February: creating the Quebec Health Authority and regulating employment services.
“I hope we can submit the bill before the end of February, that’s my goal,” he said of Health Quebec. A draft is currently circulating at the Department of Health and Social Care.
Like Hydro-Québec, this agency needs to coordinate the day-to-day management of the healthcare network to be closer to the field and “change governance”.
Mr. Dubé also reaffirmed his intention, expressed just before Christmas, to tighten the screws on the Internet recruitment agencies with a draft law this month.
In particular, it aims to better regulate the shifts to which agency workers will have access.
