• Montreal hospitals are feeling the busyness of the holiday season in the worst of ways, by having their emergency rooms face extreme over capacity.
• Many of the city's hospital ERs are facing above 100% over capacity.
• Find out below which Montreal hospitals should be avoided, if possible, at this point in time.
• Visit MTLBlog for more headlines.

People who need to visit the emergency room in Montreal might have to deal with delays as most ERs in Montreal today are operating close to full or are over capacity. According to data from Index Santé, as of Monday afternoon, Montreal ERs are operating at an average 106% over capacity. Some of Montreal's largest hospitals, such as the Montreal General, the Jewish General, and the Royal Victoria, are operating at up to 160% over capacity. 

Early this morning, the CHUM had to close its emergency room to new patients due to a pipe problem. This action reverberated across the city forcing emergency rooms and clinics across the island to deal with the CHUM's overflow. Emergency services at the CHUM are currently operating at 92%, with 47 of 51 beds occupied. 

The busiest hospital on the island of Montreal is the Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital, operating at 160% overcapacity. With only 53 beds to go around, there are somehow 85 beds occupied in the ER. Lakeshore General in the West Island is the second busiest, operating at 145% overcapacity. 

Patients who require emergency services today should try to avoid extremely busy hospitals.

If you think Montreal is bad, the overflow problem at emergency rooms is even worse in the Laurentians and Montérégie.

For instance, emergency rooms in the Laurentians are operating, on average, at 135% of hospitals overcapacity. The Montérégie comes close to matching, with 129% of hospitals overcapacity. 

Here in Montreal, several hospital emergency rooms are working in collaboration with winter clinics to better accommodate new patients.

Winter is a busy time for Montreal emergency rooms as more people risk falling on ice or contracting sicknesses like influenza or gastro.

READ ALSO: A Montreal Man & His Family Seeking Public's Help After Freak Accident Left Him Paralyzed

The following Montreal hospitals are currently operating overcapacity. Expect big delays if you need to visit any of these hospitals: 

• Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital (160%)

• Lakeshore General Hospital (145%)

• Royal Victoria Hospital (139%)

• Fleury Hospital (133%) 

• CHU Sainte-Justine (131%) 

• St. Mary's Hospital (127%)

• Montreal General Hospital (116%)

• Verdun Hospital (115%)

• Montreal Children's Hospital (108%) 

• Sacre-Coeur Hospital (102%) 

Translation: To find out the estimated waiting time in the emergency rooms of Québec with the number of patients on a stretcher, the occupancy rate, as well as the number of patients on a stretcher for over 24 and 48 hours.

Several other Montreal hospitals are nearly at 100% capacity. Try to plan ahead as much as you can.

To find the complete list of Montreal hospitals or to find a clinic or healthcare service, please consult Index Santé Quebec.