24-hour home care to reduce hospital overcrowding

The need to expand Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital in eastern Montreal has never been felt more strongly than in recent months.

According to information obtained by Radio-Canada, emergency attendances at Maisonneuve-Rosemont and Santa Cabrini hospitals increased by 8.5% over six months compared to the same period in 2023.

That's 3,600 more people, or 20 more people a day in the emergency room […] By having same beds, same human resourcesExplains CEO of CIUSSS From the East Island of Montreal, Jean-Francois Fortin-Verreault.

Population growth and aging explain this increased traffic. Montreal has 100,000 more people than last year, mainly on the East Island. […] These people need care and this increases the need for service offerings.Mr. Adds Fortin-Verreault.

Overflow signs

Signs of overflow are visible in the emergency room and on the floors of Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, one of Quebec's largest hospital centers. In the emergency room, for example, the average occupancy rate of stretchers in the past week exceeded 150%, higher than the 117% observed across the province.

Hospital beds on the upper floors are also overflowing. For Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, we approach 22-23% of beds occupied by people waiting for accommodation, which is significant.Mr. Fortin-Verreault suggests. For Santa Cabrini, we are approaching 30%.

Elsewhere in Quebec, the rate of patients no longer needing care reached 15%, a two-year high, despite the creation of a crisis unit to reduce overflows in emergencies by Health Minister Christian Dubey in November 2022. The target is 8%.

A total of 2,524 hospitalized patients are awaiting accommodation in Quebec. CHSLDIn an intermediate resource or in a private residence for seniors (RPA).

Experts point out that the more hospitals have such patients, the more users they have to wait in the emergency room and the fewer beds they have to perform surgical interventions, which reduces waiting lists.

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Solution in the meantime

In the east of Montreal, we have to face the fact that there are no new places where seniors can lose their autonomy.

For Isabelle Portalens, Director of Housing Support and Rehabilitation CIUSSS On the East Island of Montreal, home care, especially 24-hour, seven-day-a-week home care, is a priority.

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Rather than waiting for hospital accommodation, we bring back [le patient] At home, in his things, with his loved ones, and we do [offrir] servicesShe explains. We support more than 200 people in this model of repatriation.

During our visit, a social work technician accompanied a patient to her home on a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week schedule. It has 24-hour service with day, evening and night shifts.Larry Kirauk explains. This service lasts an average of one month before the patient is placed in accommodation.

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Other organizations like CIUSSS du Nord-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, use the services of this home while their patients are waiting to secure accommodation.

A file for Sainte-Québec

For maintenance CIUSSS On the eastern island of Montreal, the management of overflows in the territory's hospitals is an opportunity to work with Santé Quebec, the state corporation that oversees the network's operations, until next December.

We need to respond together, and responding to this kind of problem is the spirit of Sainte-Québec.Jean-Francois Fortin-Verreault confirms.