Waiting in the emergency department: flu, gastroenteritis and aging population, an explosive cocktail

QMI agency

Saturday, January 6, 2018 18:07

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Saturday, January 6, 2018 18:07

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The two strains of flu that circulate at the same time in Quebec, the virus of gastroenteritis shared in the Holiday season and an aging population : everything is in place at the beginning of January to the explosion of the waiting time at the emergency in the hospitals.

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“Our emergency departments are always under pressure, even when there is no flu”, has raised Dr. Simon-Pierre Landry, chief of the emergency department at the Laurentian Hospital, in an interview with LCN. “You had the flu in there, it’s been a very significant increase.”

In his own hospital, the occupation of stretchers in the emergency has exceeded the 150 % and it “has not faded since the 1st of January”.

“This year, we faced two influenzas at the same time,” said the emergency physician, while usually the two strains come in different periods of time.

According to Dr. Landry, the Québec’s demographic situation puts even more pressure on emergencies.

“People in good health who contract the flu can heal themselves at home, explained the doctor. With an aging population, it is people who are going to have décompensations of their heart and lung problems. These people will need care in the hospital.”

It is these patients who will find themselves on stretchers and increase the occupancy rate. When it rises to 100 %, it is considered that all the seats in stretchers in the emergency department are taken. Above this figure, the stretchers are then placed in the corridors.

Waiting time

A high occupancy rate has a direct impact on the people who wait often for hours in the waiting room.

“Doctors are less available to go see patients [in waiting room]. They take care of the very ill patients on their stretcher,” explained the doctor.

In the interview, the physician has stressed the importance of vaccination against influenza, which can reduce the contamination of persons at risk of developing complications. It is these last who will go then to the emergency room.

A never-before-seen in five years

In many emergencies of Quebec, the occupancy rate exceeded 100 %. Saturday, the Hôpital Pierre-Le Gardeur, Terrebonne, has reached 233 %. He had to wait more than 23 hours to see a doctor.

“About a year ago, our wait time was increased to 13 hours, said the CEO of the CISSS de Lanaudière, Christian Gagné. It gives you an idea of the overflow. In the past five years, we have not seen it. 233 %, it is a bottleneck serious enough.”