Nearly a hundred people gathered in front of the Lachine Hospital on Saturday morning to denounce the closure of the emergency rooms of the health establishment, from the beginning of November.
Citizens, doctors and nurses came together wearing a blue square on their coats, in honor of healthcare workers.
It was announced Monday that the Lachine Hospital emergency room will be closed evenings and nights from November 7, due to a “critical” shortage of nurses and respiratory therapists. Patients will be redirected by ambulance while this measure is in place.
“It was a surprise for everyone to receive an email on Monday from the [Centre universitaire de santé McGill] (CUSUM) which told us that we were only going to be open from 8 am to 3 pm, and that after that, we would have to empty the emergency, ”says DD Karine St-Arnaud, who works in the emergency department of the Lachine Hospital.
She feels that it has not been very respectful to convey this news to staff by email. “It’s very anxiety-provoking for nurses who have no idea what their schedule will look like in the coming weeks, or if they will be able to stay in the emergency room. For us either [les médecins], we don’t really know how it will work ”, continues the DD St-Arnaud.
The CUSUM said the closure will be implemented to ensure the safety of patients and staff. The measure should be spread over a few weeks, according to the organization.
A hospital close to the community
Catherine Lemaire, former nurse at the Lachine Hospital, helped organize the event. “It is a hospital, yes, which is part of the CUSUM, but which has always been a bit of a community hospital. It serves the population of Lachine, Lasalle and Dorval a lot, ”she says.
The Dr Georges Zaaour, who has been working at the Lachine Hospital since September 2018, notes the same phenomenon. “The peculiarity of the Lachine hospital is that it serves a specific community, which is excessively destitute, and very isolated on the Island of Montreal,” he says. Mr. Zaaour perceives that the residents of the borough will not receive health care outside their neighborhood.
Upon hearing the news, doctors’ first thoughts were on the community that could be suffering from the emergency room closure, says Dr.r Zaaour.
The outgoing mayor of Lachine, Maja Vodanovic participated in the organization of the rally, which wanted to highlight the work of the hospital staff. She believes that it is “unacceptable” that the emergency room of the hospital is closed.
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The outgoing mayor of Lachine, Maja Vodanovic
“We have a lot of residences for the elderly around, CHSLDs” whose residents go to the emergency room, she explains, who will have to go to other hospitals. “But elsewhere, it’s already too full,” she laments.
In search of solutions
The president of the Lachine Hospital Foundation, Jacques Filion, said he was “a little outraged” when he learned of the CUSUM’s decision to close the emergency room. As president, however, he believes that it is his duty to “find solutions internally”.
“There is a shortage of employees in the health network, we know it is not easy to find people. But, we have to be able to find solutions. That’s why we set up a working group with human resources [et d’autres personnes] CUSUM, and external stakeholders, ”explains Mr. Filion.
He wants to eliminate the constraints on recruiting and retaining employees, before the hospital is renovated.
Last June, the Department of Health and Social Services announced an investment of more than $ 200 million in the expansion and redevelopment of the Lachine hospital. A project, which could increase the attractiveness of the hospital, according to Mr. Fillion.
“When the construction is going to be finished in [environ] four years, it’s going to be a new hospital. It’s going to be a whole different story in terms of attracting and retaining staff, ”he says.
Maja Vodanovic wishes to work for the proper functioning of the Lachine hospital if she is re-elected. She also calls on the provincial government to get involved in the file.