Niteïyah Chilton, 7 months, 2022. Sakay-Ann Ottawa, 8 years old, 2016. Jaylia Jacob, 2 years old, 2009. Three little ones who probably died because they had access to hospital care too late , the emergency services having taken too long to get to their community and cradle, Manawan, located in Lanaudière.
Coroner Géhane Kamel’s report on the death of little Niteïyah, who died of bacterial meningitis last April, leaves little doubt about the fatal role played by the 8:30 a.m. delay between the first call of emergency and the arrival of the baby at the CHU Sainte-Justine, in Montreal. 8:30 a.m. The Manawan ambulance team was overwhelmed and could not come to the first call. It took 1 hour 48 minutes for the paramedics from Saint-Michel-des-Saints, a town 90 km from the Atikamekw community of Manawan, to arrive. Admission to the Joliette hospital with the baby in distress occurred 5:30 a.m. after the first alarm call to 911. The transfer to the Montreal Children’s Hospital was completed three hours later. It was too late.
It’s a spine-chilling story, to be sure, and one that re-emphasizes the importance of remote communities having the equipment, resources and processes to respond quickly to emergencies, because life depends on it. patients. To the sadness and anger that stir the bereaved parents, let’s add indignation, because we cannot plead ignorance. Two coroners before Géhane Kamel had noted a probable causal link between the deaths of members of the Manawan community and the lack of a rapid response, in addition to having claimed an adequate supply of emergency services. The invisible people growl at being so little heard, in addition to not being seen. And he’s right. How many deaths will it take for action to be taken?
The Government of Quebec claims to be working in this direction. Last June, the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, announced a series of actions supporting the government policy on the pre-hospital emergency system, including in particular better regional ambulance coverage and community paramedicine services. But the risk of hitting the wall of lack of human resources is high. With its heavy history, Manawan turns to helicopter transport, hoping that, by air, we can save lives…