The overall situation in Quebec’s emergency departments is improving, but only modestly, according to Santé Québec.
Data released Friday showed that the occupancy rate in emergency departments had fallen from 113 per cent last year to 106 per cent this year for the period from Dec. 28 to Jan. 8, despite the number of emergency room visits remaining stable. However, it remains at 145 per cent in the Montreal region.
The second indicator closely monitored by Santé Québec, average length of stay, fell by 1.3 hours per patient compared with last year, but remains at 17.9 hours.
Uneven performance
The situation varies from one hospital to another. Of the 55 large hospitals with 100 beds or more, nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of them (35) saw an improvement in both indicators, 13 (24 per cent) saw an improvement in one of the two indicators, while seven (13 per cent) saw a deterioration …