Montreal pediatric hospitals tell parents to avoid overcrowded ERs if they can

Montreal’s pediatric hospitals are asking parents to avoid their packed emergency rooms if their child’s “condition does not require immediate care,” citing an influx of young patients.

The CHU Sainte-Justine and the Montreal Children’s Hospital issued the notice Friday, saying viruses and other respiratory illnesses are putting “a lot of pressure” on their ERs.

“For children who are not seriously ill or injured, other solutions can be considered, such as the 811 line or walk-in clinics,” Dr. Harley Eisman, medical director of the Montreal Children’s emergency department, said in a statement.

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

The CHU Sainte-Justine reports more than 40 per cent of its ER visits last month were also patients with minor issues. In the last week, that number has increased by 45 per cent.

In October, its emergency department occupancy rose to 120 per cent before it surged to 142 per cent over the last week.

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Both pediatric hospitals say no child in need of medical care will be turned away, but they say wait times in their ERs for less urgent cases can be long.

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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.

The hospitals say parents should bring their children to the ER in the following cases: a baby under three months of age with a fever, unusual sleepiness or confusion and difficulty breathing. It is also recommended to bring a kid who is vomiting or has diarrhea with an inability to retain fluids or who shows signs of dehydration.

Injuries — including eye injuries, burns resulting in blistering, head trauma with loss of consciousness, a cut that requires stitches and broken bones — should also be treated in the ER.

The hospitals say children who ingest poison, a drug or an unknown substance should be taken to the emergency department after calling the Centre antipoison du Québec at 1-800-463-5060.

— with files from The Canadian Press