Quebecers have spent an average of more than 18 hours on a stretcher in emergency rooms across the province this year, the worst result in at least 15 years.
According to Department of Health and Human Services (MSSS) data for 2022-2023 obtained by Le Journal (see below), patients in Quebec had not waited this long on a stretcher since at least 2008.
Yesterday, the MSSS could not say when such a long wait happened. Keep in mind that this year the provincial target for the average time spent on a stretcher is 14 hours.
“It’s the work as a whole that has increased,” laments Dr. Gilbert Boucher, President of the Association of Specialists in Emergency Medicine of Quebec (ASMUQ).
In some regions, the wait is even longer: 24 hours in Laurentians and Montérégie, 23 hours in Outaouais and 20 hours in Montreal.
No more patients
Last autumn, the Minister of Health created a crisis team to improve the situation in emergencies. It is clear that the benefits are beginning to be felt.
“We recognize the problem, we have solutions. In practice, they are not always used, regrets Dr. Judy Morris, President of the Association of Emergency Physicians of Quebec. It is possible to improve things, but it takes willpower.
Since 2018, however, the number of emergency room visits has decreased slightly. So why this record? According to many, the lack of staff has been the main cause of the problems for months.
“It’s an endless vicious circle. There are no words to describe the discouragement,” responds Mélanie Gignac, President of the Nurses’ Union (FIQ) in Montérégie-Ouest.
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Additionally, 24% of patients spend more than 24 hours on a stretcher before being placed on the floor or discharged. The government target is zero.
“24-hour delays shouldn’t exist,” says Dr. Morris.
Lack of beds upstairs
Worse, 7.4% of users spend more than 48 hours on a stretcher. A statistic that has more than doubled in four years.
The long wait in the emergency room is often explained by the lack of beds on the floors, which leads to traffic jams. According to ASMUQ, 45% of emergency stretchers are currently occupied by people awaiting hospitalization.
Some patients with complex problems spend up to 10 days in the emergency room before being discharged.
“It doesn’t make good sense,” laments Dr. Boucher.
too many layoffs
The worst stays in Quebec are in Montérégie: an average of 37 hours in Châteauguay and 34 hours in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield.
These hospitals are facing severe staff shortages and their wait times have increased by at least 10 hours in four years.
“So many people have quit in the last four years. If you start your shift and four nurses are missing, there are more than 20 patients who do not have an assigned nurse,” Ms Gignac laments.
THE WORST EMERGENCIES
- Chateauguay 37 hours
- Albert-Prévost Pavilion (Mental Health) in Montreal 35 hours
- Salaberry de Valleyfield 34 hours
- Royal Victoria (MUHC) 33 p.m
- Lakefront (Pointe Claire) 30 p.m
- University of Montreal Institute of Mental Health 29:00
- Hull Hospital 29:00
- Santa Cabrini 23 o’clock
- Papineau (Outaouais) 23 o’clock
- The autumn 26 hours
- St Jerome 26 hours
- Holy Heart 10 p.m
- Our lady 10 p.m
- Montreal General Hospital (MUHC) 10 p.m
- Gatineau 10 p.m
- Holy Hyacinth 24 hours
- Saint Jean sur Richelieu 24 hours
- Maisonneuve Rosemont 24 hours
- Maria (Gaspé Peninsula) 24 hours
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