These are the worst times to go to the ER in Montreal this August
These are the worst times to go to the ER in Montreal this August
Many of us who have been to emergency rooms in Montreal know the pain of waiting. It may be hours before we are ever seen by anyone. So we compiled data around weekly and daily occupancy rate patterns for the month of August to show you which days or which range of hours have the worst wait times for ERs.
Here we see that during the hours of the day, occupancy rate is at the highest between 9am and 3pm. This is expected, since evening is often advised to be avoided for ER visits. The simple explanation to this is that at this time only the hospital emergency rooms are available in case a medical emergency should arise. Everything else is closed at this time. Also, the day shift is out, meaning towards the evening staff is more short-handed.
One can also speculate that this is when people are more out and about. This time is also often when people are enjoying themselves by going out, and people may do something more risky when inebriated. It also may be that this is when people who have work during the day, are more available.
During the week, we see the highest spikes for occupancy rate on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On the weekends it seems to die down, until the weekdays come around again.
This is against the common wisdom that the worst time to go to the ER is the weekend due to people usually being busy during the weekdays to visit the ER, and that staff are more short-handed then. The explanation for this may be that people are simply outside more during the weekdays, while on the weekends they tend to rest, or stay at home. Therefore, this tends to create more instances of emergency. That or people simply may drop by the ER on their way back from work.
What are your thoughts on these occupancy rate patterns? How would you explain these numbers? Let us know what you think!
4 ways to avoid long ER wait times
Tips on how to deal with long ER wait times
ER wait times are long and it annoys everyone. While waiting at the ER for what seems like eternity, You might have asked yourself “Why are ER wait times so long ?” and ‘’When are the emergency rooms the least busy ?’’ In fact, the average wait time for ER’s in Canada is over four hours. This situation becomes a major problem for Canadians after access to family doctors. But what is the explanation behind these hours of patience ?
A shortage of emergency department physicians is one of the main cause of these long hours waiting. The few family physicians available is another factor. Canadians who don’t have a family doctor tend to visit the ER for multiple non-urgent conditions. The lack of funding by the federal government is also an important economic factor. With this being said, here are some tips to avoid long ER wait times.
1. Avoid Going To The ER Between 6 Pm And Midnight.
This is the easiest way to get short ER wait times. Let’s state the obvious, most Canadians are not working in this timeslot and the ERs are full by that time. The best time to visit the ER is between 6 am and noon. There are two reasons for this advice. First, the hospitals are at full efficiency in the morning with the most staff. Second is that by mid-morning, doctor’s offices and medical clinics are generally open, relieving pressure from the ERs.
2. Call Your Primary Care Physician
Not everyone has a primary care physician, but if you do have one, call your physician. Ask if you can see him or her instead of staying and waiting for hours at the ER. If you know your condition is non-urgent save time and ask an appointment with your family doctor. There are alternative ways of speaking to a medical authority such as calling 811 HealthLine. They can help by redirecting you to the most appropriate service, which might not be the ER.
3. Use an ER Wait Time Tracking App
If you are tired of always typing stuff like ‘’walk-in clinic near me’’ in Google, there are alternatives.The most known app to get through the healthcare system is Doctr. Access the wait times and occupancy rates of emergency rooms in real-time across Canada. There is also lots of information on walk-in clinics availability. If you hate calling multiple times to get an appointment this is for you. Join the Doctr community and share the status of medical walk-in clinics with other patients to book appointments faster.
4. Register yourself and wait at home, come when it’s your turn.
There are services that let patients be more autonomous by registering himself inside the walk-in clinic and wait somewhere else. Some even send you a notification or an email when it’s your turn to see the doc. We’ll save you some time and present two of them.
Patient in Line is a system where you go into the clinic, pick up your number in line and call Patient in Line. It will notice you when your turn is near. Like receiving a text or a call instead of sitting in the clinic for hours ?
Chronometriq is a company that helps you book an appointment with a clinic, reminds your appointments and lets you self check-in once you arrive at the clinic. It reduces the administrative work form the employees and helps increase their efficiency. Want to take control of your appointment?