Quebec emergency rooms are taking in more patients than they can handle over the holiday season. The overflow has been described as critical in a number of regions of Montreal.
According to Health Index data, stretcher occupancy is at 162% in Montérégie, 184% in Lanaudière and 152% in the Laurentians.
On average 49 patients had to wait for over two days on a stretcher before being seen by a doctor.