Emergency Room wait times have been decreasing across Quebec over the last three years, but that's only if you're "lucky" enough to have a case requiring the need of a stretcher. If you're a patient that is sitting in the waiting room...chances are you'll continue to do so quite a bit longer.
The Quebec Association of Emergency Physicians acknowledges the wait time situation only improved slightly last year and there there is concern that the shortage of medical personnel will lead to a further service-level decline in the coming months, which will push back any gains in provincial ERs.
According to a Radio-Canada report, data from the last budget year showed a mixed picture across Quebec emergency departments and that the situation varies from one region to another.
The shortest stretcher wait times are at the Bas-Saint-Laurent Integrated Health and Social Services Center, where the average length of stretcher stay is 7.2 hours. The longest wait times in a stretcher are found in the suburbs of Montreal and have been known to exceed more than 15 hours.
Patients found in a waiting room chair represent about two-thirds of hospital clientele and are usually less serious cases. The waiting period for those in waiting room chairs has stagnated over the last three years and the wait risks becoming longer.