Aaron Derfel

"The staff don't get the authorization and they don't just do it in very rare instances; it's become the norm," said patient-rights advocate Paul Brunet.

Liberal MNA André Fortin countered, "we know exactly what the problem is, we know exactly what the solutions are, and then nothing improves."

The wait time for one in 10 British ER patients is at least 12 hours. In Quebec on Feb. 12, one in three spent at least 24 hours on a stretcher.

More than 490,000 Quebecers have already been waiting longer than the medically acceptable delays for their conditions.

The shuttering of 17 East is in addition to the temporary closing of six beds on the oncology ward at the Royal Victoria two weeks ago.

"Recently in Montreal, there have been two cases of measles, one of which was in a school," Dr. Mylène Drouin said in a letter sent to parents.

"The government missed the opportunity to put seniors first," says Andrée Lamontagne, president of a group representing retired health-care workers.

The nurse "did not provide the follow-up required since he did not adequately reassess the patient's condition and did not inform the doctor of the change in his condition," the Quebec Order of Nurses ruled.

Patient-rights advocate decries "triumphalist tone" of CAQ message on health-care achievements since 2018

"Like many other laboratories in the province, we are facing a shortage of medical laboratory technologists," an MUHC official said.