The first directives on COVID-19 sent by Quebec to the health network in January 2020 did not specifically concern the issue of CHSLDs, a former senior official said on Monday, when work resumed in the coroner’s inquest on deaths that occurred during the first wave of the pandemic.
Before Coroner Géhane Kamel, the former Assistant Deputy Minister at the Directorate General of Coordination, Planning, Performance and Quality, Pierre Lafleur, declared that a “yellow” flag had been raised in a letter to the establishments on January 28, 2020, “saying: ‘Something might happen, we have to get organized and here is what we expect of you”. “
“Basically, there is nothing in that letter that tells people: ‘Be careful, this is your first red flag concerning CHSLDs” “, relaunched the coroner.
“In this letter, we are addressing the establishments. The establishments have several missions, including the CHSLDs, ”insisted Mr. Lafleur.
He acknowledged that the specific issue of CHSLDs had only been addressed by the Network Management Committee (CGR) around mid-March 2020. Between January and March, “this is the portrait that I miss” replied Me Kamel.
“I remain concerned. […] I can’t hear anyone really telling me what’s going on between January and March and I’m in the last few miles, ”she exclaimed.
Key testimonials rejected
The much awaited testimony of the Minister of Seniors, Marguerite Blais was also postponed for a day and will finally take place on Friday.
Key witness, Mme Blais, who is 71, initially canceled her participation in the investigation due to health concerns, before recently changing his mind.
Monday, Me Kamel explained that she was supposed to hear Mme Blais on Thursday, but that the courthouse in Trois-Rivières made available to him was only available on Friday.
She also announced that the person in charge of civil security, Martin Simard, who was supposed to testify Monday morning, had had a “setback”, but that he could appear at the investigation next Friday or Monday.
Mr. Simard’s testimony constitutes, according to the coroner, the “missing piece of the puzzle” to understand what preparations were actually made between January and March 2020 to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic in CHSLDs.
Coroner Kamel has been looking for months into the situation of CHSLDs during the first wave of the pandemic. Nearly 4,000 people died in these establishments between March and June 2020.
Its aim is not to pinpoint a culprit, but to make recommendations to avoid future tragedies, she said.