The duration of emergency room wait times in Quebec will no longer be a total mystery.
On Tuesday, Quebec Health Minister Christian DubĂ© announced the launch of a new informational tool aimed at providing the public with a more accurate picture of the situation in the province’s hospital emergency rooms.
With the new tool, patients can now see how many people are in the emergency room or waiting to see a doctor at each hospital location, as well as the average length of time a patient spends in the waiting room or on a stretcher. The stretcher occupancy rate will also be available to the public.
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In a press release, DubĂ© stated that the tool is still in the “running-in” phase. However, some data can already be found here.
“Our new information tool will make it possible to better identify the alternatives available and to offer the population an even more accurate picture of the state, in real-time, of our health and social services network,” said DubĂ©, adding that his team is “committed to continuing to work with the entire system to reduce the pressure on our emergency departments while increasing their capacity.”
The new tool is the latest addition to the establishment of a crisis unit and the implementation of new measures intended to reduce the pressure on Quebec hospitals. Dubé says the situation is beginning to show signs of improvement.
According to the minister, the average wait before seeing a doctor has gone from three hours and 12 minutes to two hours and 16 minutes over the last month and a half. Nonetheless, he says “the situation remains precarious.”
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