Several Montreal ERs operating over capacity as summer pressure peaks

Several Montreal emergency departments were operating at more than 180 per cent stretcher capacity as of Tuesday morning, with the average stay for admitted ER patients climbing to nearly 24 hours this summer.

The pressure intensified as Quebec's construction holiday ended Sunday, traditionally a moment when hospital demand spikes. But the real constraint isn't space — it's people. Dr. Christopher Labos, a Montreal cardiologist and epidemiologist, said the core problem is a lack of personnel. "We have the geographic space to put people," he said. "We just don't have the personnel to take care of them. We don't have the hospital beds to admit people, to move them out of the emergency room."

The staffing crisis traces partly to COVID-19. "Ever since COVID-19, a lot of people have left and it's just put more pressure on the system," Labos said. Summer compounds it: hospital workers take vacation, shrinking the staff available to handle the seasonal influx of injured and ill people.

Info-Santé 811, the provincial nurse hotline, is also strained — callers now wait an average of 89 minutes before speaking with someone.

Labos advised residents to use judgment about where to seek care. "If you can deal with something that doesn't require you to go to the emergency room, do it that way," he said. "Speak with your family doctor if you have one or a pharmacist or call 811 and try to resolve the issue that way." Urgent symptoms — chest pain, signs of stroke, severe bleeding — warrant an ambulance call immediately. But for non-emergency concerns, a clinic appointment within one to two days is often fine. "If you can avoid a trip to the emergency room, that would be preferable," he said.