Hospitals over capacity

Montreal pediatric hospitals are surging over capacity and asking parents to avoid the emergency department unless their child is seriously ill or injured.

Montreal Children’s Hospital says patients with minor health problems accounted for 50 per cent of visits to the emergency room in October. For the same period, the average occupancy rate was 140 per cent.

CHU Sainte-Justine says more than 40 per cent of its ER visits last month were also patients with minor issues, and in the last week, that’s gone up to 45 per cent.

In October, their emergency department capacity rose to 120 per cent, surging to 142 per cent over the last week.

The hospitals are reassuring parents that no child in need of medical care will be turned away.

Dr. Antonio D'Angelo, medical chief of CHU Sainte-Justine's emergency department, says mild flu, gastroenteritis and fever symptoms that last three to five days can be treated at home.