A man died in the Châteauguay emergency room after waiting 45 minutes for the ambulance

A 41-year-old man died in the emergency room of the Châteauguay hospital yesterday afternoon, after waiting for the ambulance for 45 minutes for chest pain.

• Read also: Ambulance delays: adding ambulances is not at the heart of the Ministry of Health’s action plan

• Read also: Too few additions of ambulances in the Dubé plan: paramedics “stunned”

“The paramedics are stunned by what happened,” reacts Gaétan Dutil, president of the paramedics union of the Cooperative of Ambulance Technicians of Montérégie (CETAM).

In the past three months, this is the third publicized case of a patient who died in the emergency room of Anna-Laberge hospital in Châteauguay. At the beginning of December, two patients died in two days without seeing a doctor.

• Listen to the interview with Philip Girouard, paramedic and president of the Board of Directors of the shareholder Cooperative Les Paramédics d’Urgence Bois-Francs on the microphone of Alexandre Dubé via QUB radio :

46 minute delay

At 1:18 p.m. yesterday, CETAM received a call for a 41-year-old man from Saint-Philippe-de-La-Prairie (his identity is protected) who was having chest pain, according to our information. His case was classified priority 3, meaning an ambulance is assigned immediately, but it is considered “non-urgent”.

However, on two occasions, the ambulance heading towards him was reassigned due to more urgent cases. The paramedics finally arrived with the patient at 2:04 p.m., confirms the CETAM relations officer.

“The 45 minutes that it took are 45 minutes less to detect the problem,” laments Gaétan Dutil.

“Would he be alive if he had been taken care of more quickly?” he asks, without having an answer.

During transport to the Anna-Laberge hospital in Châteauguay, the usual tests were carried out on the patient, and the paramedics informed emergency management that they were on their way. The patient was conscious upon arrival.

Well seen at triage

Questioned on this subject, the Integrated Health and Social Services Center (CISSS) of Montérégie-Ouest confirms that the patient was indeed seen in triage by a nurse.

“According to the information we currently have, we can affirm that the procedures were adequately followed,” writes Jade St-Jean, spokesperson for the CISSS.

“Unfortunately, certain health problems can deteriorate quickly, even if triage is done rigorously and all tests are carried out adequately,” she adds.

According to our information, the patient went to the bathroom after triage and was sent to the waiting room, where his condition deteriorated. He quickly died. The paramedics who transported him were still on site at the time of his death, the union points out.

The Coroner’s Office confirms that it has opened an investigation into this death. According to Mr. Dutil, this case shows that the problem of the lack of ambulances on the road must be prioritized.

“If we don’t add other vehicles, we will have other problems as well,” he laments.

Do you have information on this? Contact me: [email protected]