A medical team carries out a surgical procedure inside an operating room at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children on November 30, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS
Quebec’s hospital network currently has 134 operating rooms closed out of 560 across the province, raising concerns about surgical delays and growing pressure on the health-care system.
New data obtained through an access to information request shows that many operating rooms do not run at full capacity. In fact, more than three-quarters operate below optimal levels.
Staff Shortage at the Core
Doctors point to a serious lack of trained staff as the main reason behind the closures.
Dr. Patrick Charlebois, general surgeon and president of the Quebec Association of Surgery, says the situation continues to worsen.
“we are heading straight for a wall,” he said, warning that rising patient needs and fewer available workers are pushing the system to its limits.
The Health Department considers 40 hours per week as full use of an operating room. However, nearly 30 per cent of rooms operate less than 75 per cent of that time, meaning they run under 30 hours weekly.
Dr. Charlebois explained that hospitals aim for about 85 to 90 per cent use because staff must clean and prepare rooms between surgeries.
“From what I understand of the methodology, the goal is 85 to 90 per cent utilization because there is always a [rotation] of rooms. There is a necessary amount of time between cases that we try to minimize as much as possible by cleaning the rooms efficiently, but the fact remains that this has to be done before the next patient can be admitted,” he said.
Hospitals continue to face long surgery wait lists even though operating rooms sit empty. Doctors say they lack both staff and funding to keep them running.
Wide Gaps Between Hospitals
Some hospitals report strong performance. The Montreal General Hospital runs at 105 per cent capacity, while the Royal Victoria Hospital reports 104 per cent. The Montreal Neurological Hospital reaches 99 per cent, and the Quebec Heart and Lung Institute stands at 96 per cent.
Other facilities struggle. Archipel Hospital in Îles-de-la-Madeleine operates at just 33 per cent. Pontiac Hospital reports 49 per cent, Chibougamau Health Center 50 per cent, and Dolbeau-Mistassini Hospital 52 per cent.
Focus on Long Waits
Santé Québec has focused on reducing the number of patients waiting more than one year for surgery. That effort has lowered the number of long-wait patients.
As of January 10, 2026, about 142,200 people waited for surgery, including just over 5,000 who had waited more than a year. In February 2025, more than 153,000 people waited, including 7,700 long-term cases.
Orthopedic surgery has the longest waiting list, with more than 33,600 patients, including 1,580 who have waited over a year.
Dr. Véronique Godbout, orthopedic surgeon and president of the Quebec Orthopedic Association, says the strategy creates new pressure.
“The numbers look good for those who have been waiting for a year or more, except that everything below the surface has really increased significantly, meaning the number of patients waiting between zero and twelve months,” she said.
Dr. Charlebois agrees. He says reducing the long-wait group shifts the burden onto others.
“This decrease in the number of patients who have been waiting for more than a year has the effect of increasing the number of patients who have been waiting for less than a year but who have surgeries that are probably a little more urgent and who end up waiting longer. So, the balloon below ‘one year’ is inflating as we skim off the patients who have been waiting for more than a year,” he said.
Growing Concern for the Future
Doctors say they could perform more surgeries if hospitals gave them more operating time. Many orthopedic surgeons operate only one-and-a-half days per week but say they could handle three days if resources allowed.
“It takes the entire assembly line to open additional operating rooms,” Dr. Charlebois said, noting the need for nurses, anesthesiologists, technicians and hospital beds.
He described cancelling a patient’s surgery after a pre-surgery issue went unnoticed for months.
“This is a failure of the system, a failure of care, when they had nine months to do this. But they waited until the last minute because they don’t have enough staff,” he said.
Doctors warn that population growth and ageing will increase demand for surgery. They have long called for more training spots for future surgeons.
“With this, we’re heading for a wall,” Dr. Charlebois said.
