Montreal ERs remain packed as MUHC, Jewish General run at over 250% capacity

The holiday season may be over, but the Montreal emergency room overcrowding that has become an almost inevitable part of that two-week period continued on Monday.

According to the Index Santé health system monitoring site, the average capacity rate for Montreal-area ERs stood at 159 per cent as of Monday morning.

However, that average was boosted dramatically by the traffic at the Glen site of the McGill University Health Centre (261 per cent) and the Jewish General Hospital (275 per cent). The Glen site reported that there were 113 patients in the ER while 86 stretchers were occupied. A total of 50 of those patients had been in stretchers for more than 24 hours while another 30 had been in stretchers for more than 48 hours.

The situation was even more acute at the Jewish General, with 156 patients at the ER and 146 stretcher cases. The institution reported 56 patients had been in stretchers for more than 24 hours while another 30 had been in stretchers for more than 48 hours.

The situation was less grave — but only slightly so — at the Montreal General (194 per cent) and Lakeshore General hospitals (177 per cent).

Faced with a spike in influenza cases, local health institutions spent much of last month urging area residents not to come to the ER unless their situation was urgent. And that seasonal increase in cases was exacerbated by an increase in the number of injuries caused by icy road conditions.

Suggested alternatives included going to the local CLSC or calling the 811 line.

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