Residents urged to avoid Lakeshore emergency ward

West Islanders are being urged to avoid the emergency ward at Lakeshore General Hospital in Pointe Claire due to an overcrowding situation.

"This decision is justified by the unusual number of patients that came to the emergency. The emergency will remain open but will have to prioritize people with a critical health condition," a news release sent out to media today by the West Island Health and Social Services Centre (HSSC) advised.

The release goes on to recommend patients to temporarily turn to Statcare Clinic or Brunswick Medical Centre in Pointe Claire, or Medistat Medical Clinic in Pierrefonds, for their health needs.

The release did not specify what the particular surge behind the number of emergency health patients is due to, but this is not the first time the emergency ward there has had an overcrowding problem.

During the Lakeshore General Foundation's recent fundraiser launch, its president Silvana Orrino said the hospital's emergency ward frequently has to serve off-island residents who want English-language healthcare services, even though the Pointe Claire hospital was originally designed only to serve the West Island's population. "We're the only bilingual hospital in the area," she had said.

More as it breaks.