Quebec City ER wait times — live board
CONNECTING TO THE BOARD FEED…
Every ER in the Capitale-Nationale — the CHU de Québec network, IUCPQ, and the regional hospitals from Portneuf to Charlevoix — live on one board. «Temps d'attente urgence Québec» is one of the province's most common searches; this page answers it with the ministry's own hourly numbers, in English, ranked.
The hospitals, ranked by live pressure
Sorted busiest-first; the pinned card is this city's own hospital. «Not reported» means the ministry's current file has no figure for that ER — we never substitute an old one.
How to read these numbers — honestly
The headline figure is stretcher occupancy: how many of an ER's functional stretchers are in use. 100% means every stretcher is full; Québec ERs routinely run past 130% in winter — patients on stretchers in hallways. It is a pressure gauge, not a "minutes until a doctor sees you" estimate: triage category decides who is seen first, and a quiet-looking ER can still mean a long wait for minor complaints. The province publishes its own estimated wait for non-priority cases per facility on quebec.ca — use both together: our board for pressure and trend, theirs for the official estimate. We relay the ministry's hourly file verbatim and compute only the percentage.
Not sure the ER is the right place?
Québec's Info-Santé 811 line (option 1) puts a nurse on the phone 24/7, and 811 option 3 (Guichet d'accès à la première ligne) can book urgent same-week appointments with a doctor or nurse — often the faster path for non-emergencies. Walk-in clinics and pharmacists (who can now treat several minor conditions in Québec) are alternatives worth checking before a multi-hour ER visit. When in doubt, go to the ER — this is information, not medical advice.
Transit Barometer is an independent data board — not affiliated with the MSSS, Santé Québec, or any hospital. Figures are the ministry's own hourly open-data file, relayed verbatim under CC-BY 4.0 (Source : MSSS / Données Québec). On any discrepancy, the official page wins.
Questions Quebec City residents ask
Which hospitals does this Quebec City board cover?
The Capitale-Nationale region's twelve installations — the CHU de Québec–Université Laval network (Enfant-Jésus, Saint-François d'Assise, CHUL, Hôtel-Dieu de Québec, Saint-Sacrement) plus IUCPQ (Laval hospital) and the regional ERs from Portneuf to Charlevoix.
Is «temps d'attente urgence Québec» this page?
That search usually means Quebec City — this page. If you meant the whole province, the all-Québec board ranks every hospital live.
Which Quebec City ER is best for non-urgent visits?
The one showing the lowest live pressure above, balanced against distance — and consider 811 option 3 first: Québec's urgent primary-care booking line frequently beats any ER for minor issues.
Does the IUCPQ ER take walk-ins?
IUCPQ (the heart-and-lung institute) runs a genuine ER, but with a specialized profile. For a general complaint, the CHU network ERs are the usual walk-in choice — check the live cards before choosing.
Why does occupancy differ so much between these hospitals?
Size and role: a university trauma centre admits far more patients (who then hold stretchers) than a community ER in Portneuf. That is why comparing the live number beats hospital reputation on any given night.
How fresh is this data?
Hourly, from the ministry's own file — its extraction stamp is printed at the top of the page, and the board refreshes itself.