New figures launched by Santé Québec spotlight vital pressure on emergency departments throughout the province, with Lakeshore Normal Hospital’s emergency room displaying a few of the longest common wait instances in Quebec for 2025–26.
Emergency sufferers on the Lakeshore wait greater than 60 per cent longer than the common time in Quebec.
“The wait strains are very lengthy. There’s so many individuals and never sufficient employees,” one affected person informed CityNews.
In line with the information, sufferers at Lakeshore Normal spent a median of roughly 26.5 hours on a stretcher earlier than being admitted or discharged. That’s in comparison with the 16 hours and 46 minutes recorded on common throughout the province.
Whereas the numbers place Lakeshore among the many highest in wait-time averages, hospital exercise knowledge and regional well being circumstances assist clarify the pressures behind the figures moderately than pointing to a single trigger.
One main issue is the hospital’s affected person demographic. Roughly 46 per cent of emergency room visits contain sufferers aged 75 and older — 14 per cent increased than the provincial common. Elders usually require extra advanced assessments, longer therapy instances, and the next chance of hospital admission, which will increase stretcher occupancy and slows affected person stream by means of the emergency division.
In a press release to CityNews, CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal mentioned: “In a context of serious stress within the emergency division of the Lakeshore Normal Hospital, our groups are absolutely mobilized and enhancements are underway to cut back delays for sufferers.
“In concrete phrases, we deploy contingency plans in instances of overcapacity, guarantee each day medical reassessment of sufferers on lengthy waits and optimize specialised consultations. We’ve additionally strengthened residence care and added the presence of a geriatric group devoted to emergencies. These measures assist to higher orient sufferers, cut back avoidable admissions, and enhance total stream.”
Well being officers additionally level to broader system-wide challenges. Restricted availability of residence care and neighborhood assist providers for seniors means many older sufferers arrive at emergency rooms when their wants would possibly in any other case be managed exterior of hospital settings. Enhancing these providers, officers counsel, may ease stress not solely on Lakeshore Normal however on emergency departments throughout Quebec.
In a press release to CityNews, Santé Québec mentioned: “General, Santé Québec is glad with the efficiency of its emergency rooms. Because of the dedication and sustained efforts of the groups, we’ve got achieved – or are very near attaining – the targets for emergency efficiency.”
Santé Québec says ER visits dipped round three per cent final 12 months throughout the province. That’s an effort the federal government has been making an attempt to make ever since asserting final month that it desires extra individuals turning to CLSCs first — as an alternative of ERs.
“We’ll make sure that CLSCs as soon as once more function a bodily level of entry for major care for everybody who wants it,” mentioned Quebec Well being Minister Sonia Bélanger on March 27.
However there was a five-year excessive within the quantity of aged sufferers – simply over one-third of all visits.
“It was very laborious to see individuals there simply ready, older individuals there for a very long time,” one particular person on the Lakeshore informed CityNews.
Affected person advocate Paul Brunet says higher care at residence may ease that stress.
“We may minimize, diminish the variety of elders being admitted if we adopted them higher at residence,” Brunet mentioned.
“If you happen to decrease by a whole bunch of 1000’s the variety of sufferers who nonetheless find yourself at emergency ward, together with Lakeshore, you’ll diminish the stress.”
Staffing shortages and elevated demand for emergency care have additionally contributed to longer wait instances. Like many hospitals throughout the province, Lakeshore has needed to handle fluctuating sources whereas persevering with to serve a excessive quantity of sufferers with more and more advanced wants.
