By Canadian Press

Quebec expanding urgent-care phone line to all children amid ER overcrowding

Dec 21, 2022 | 9:17 AM

LONGUEUIL, Que. — Quebec is expanding a call-in service that allows parents to book urgent medical appointments for sick children, in an effort to reduce emergency room visits.

Health Minister Christian Dubé says the 811 appointment-booking service for children — currently available in Montreal and neighbouring regions — will now be available provincewide.

Dubé told reporters today during a visit to a hospital on Montreal’s South Shore that he expects traffic at the province’s already crowded emergency rooms to rise during the holiday season.

He says there are around 10,000 emergency room visits a day in Quebec — around the same as this time last year.

However, Dubé says he believes that a series of measures, including the recent opening of five clinics run by nurse practitioners, have allowed thousands of patients to receive care outside emergency rooms.

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Health data website IndexSanté says that on average Quebec’s emergency rooms are at 125 per cent capacity today.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 21, 2022.

The Canadian Press