Doctors Push Back Against Quebec Minister’s Advice to Avoid ERs Due to Overcrowding

A paramedic loads his stretcher back into the ambulance after bringing a patient to the emergency room at a hospital in Montreal, on Apr. 14, 2022. The Canadian Press/Ryan Remiorz

The Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians says it is “concerned” about comments made by Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé in December suggesting that unnecessary emergency department visits significantly contribute to ER overcrowding.

If patients feel they need emergency health care, they shouldn’t hesitate to go to the ER, the association told The Canadian Press on Jan. 3.