Photo: The Canadian Press The Montreal Children’s Hospital is featured in this undated flyer image. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Montreal Children’s Hospital/Hôpital de Montréal MANDATORY CREDIT The Montreal Children’s Hospital says the increase in patients is putting a strain on emergency services, forcing families to be redirected elsewhere. The hospital sent out a statement earlier today asking young patients with non-urgent conditions to see their doctor or a rapid access clinic instead of going to the emergency room. The statement says the hospital cannot see all patients amid an increase in children seeking treatment. Montreal Public Health says the Children’s Hospital ER occupancy rate is 192 percent today, the second highest among all the city’s hospitals. Dr. Robert Barnes, the hospital’s associate director of professional services, says ER wait times are currently up to 18 hours, and he doesn’t know when the wait is expected to decrease. He says the hospital isn’t seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases, but rather infections of all kinds.
