Quebec actress, director and producer Micheline Lanctôt is in mourning for her husband, who died on May 10 from cancer. Revolted by the “unworthy conditions” which marked the last days of her loved one, she publishes in THE Duty an open letter in the form of a cry from the heart to Minister of Health Christian Dubé.
“The man who entered the hospital on April 21 was 86 years old, but strong, vigorous, fully conscious and functional. The man who came out of it was no more than a shadow of himself, still conscious, but haggard, weakened, anxious and struggling after his breath, ”she is indignant in this text.
“Minister Dubé, we can say that the hospital killed my spouse,” she asserts.
Joined by THE DutyMicheline Lanctôt explains that her late husband was first operated on for a tumor “as big as a grapefruit” and that, despite his insistence, the doctors did not see the recurrence occurring.
Not only did the absence of staff interfere with the rest that the couple needed, but the hubbub of comings and goings in the hospital center ended up transmitting COVID-19 to them. “Nobody enforces the protocol of two visitors per bed, and it’s a fair: people come and go in a hurry, without masks, without hygiene precautions”, supports Micheline Lanctôt, who has indeed contracted the COVID-19 in this sad story.
Then, paradoxically, the rigidity of the protocols prevented him from offering some personal relief, such as eye drops that came from outside the establishment. “I prefer not to name anyone in this case. It’s the system that’s at fault,” she explains to the Duty. An official complaint was nevertheless filed with the responsible CIUSSS.
“We are required not to comment on a specific case out of respect and in compliance with the rules for the confidentiality of the files of the people to whom we offer services”, replied the communications department of this CIUSSS, questioned by THE Dutybefore adding that “the establishment is concerned about the quality of the care and services offered”.
Micheline Lanctôt recognizes the “lack of staff, [le] lack of care, [la] professional fatigue” from which the health system suffers, but the lack of listening from patients’ relatives is difficult to explain. “For six days, he was given oxygen through a cannula in his nose while he has a deviated septum which prevents him from breathing through his nose,” she says.
Minister Dubé’s office wanted to offer its condolences to the bereaved family after reading the letter. “The situations reported in the letter are disturbing and do not at all represent the care that Quebecers deserve,” one indicates as a defense in a written communication. “Despite the current challenges in our network, all patients, regardless of their situation and their health problem, are entitled to receive quality and respectful care. This is at the very heart of our vision. That being said, we won’t comment further on this situation, but that needs to change. »
At the end of March, Christian Dubé presented a voluminous bill of more than 1,000 articles spread over 308 pages which recognizes the “right” of “everyone” to receive adequate and safe health services.