(Quebec) The town of Senneterre, in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, is in mourning after the death of a man from the community who would have waited for help for more than two hours before being “properly taken care of” during the night Tuesday. His death occurred during the closing hours of the Senneterre emergency room, to the chagrin of the mayor, who asked the Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé, to intervene personally. The CISSS ensures that “all the protocols in force have been respected”.
“What we feared has happened,” wrote the new mayoress of Senneterre, Nathalie-Ann Pelchat, in a letter addressed to Minister Dubé.
The emergencies at the Senneterre Health Center have been closed 16 hours a day since mid-October due to staff shortages. The decision was taken by the Integrated Health and Social Services Center of Abitibi-Témiscamingue (CISSSAT), which was deplored in particular by the former mayor Jean-Maurice Matte, who criticized a lack of listening to The direction.
“For several weeks, our teams have been working in good faith with the CISSSAT in order to find solutions to the current problem. However, we regret to inform you that a citizen of Senneterre, a husband, a father, a brother, died yesterday morning due to the break in service of our emergency ”, continues Mr.me Pelchat in his missive.
“Today, a whole community is in mourning,” also indicates the City of Senneterre in a press release released Wednesday.
Minutes that could have changed everything
According to the story reported by the mayoress, the 65-year-old man suffered from abdominal discomfort on the night of November 30. He would have dialed 911 around 2:40 am “He must have waited more than two hours before being taken care of properly,” she wrote in her letter to the minister. Support would also have been delayed by the fact that “the only ambulance was already on its way to Val-d’Or” at the time of the events, she laments.
Senneterre is located approximately 70 km from Val-d’Or. Once he arrived at the local hospital at around 5 a.m., the man was reportedly eventually transferred to Amos hospital for surgery. Val-d’Or is also 70 km from Amos.
Unfortunately, his death was pronounced dead in the elevator while he was expected in the operating room. According to the vascular surgeon who was to operate, taking charge of the patient five minutes earlier could have changed everything.
Nathalie-Ann Pelchat, Mayor of Senneterre
“He lived a 10-15 minute walk from the Senneterre Health Center,” Mayor Pelchat said in an interview with Press.
The CISSSAT ensures that “all the protocols in force [avaient] been respected ”. The president and CEO of the organization, Caroline Roy, who offered her condolences to the man’s family, confirms that a “diligent review of the entire situation was carried out following the unfortunate event” .
“The information transmitted concerning the ambulance services, the information in the user’s file and the exchanges carried out with the care teams concerned made it possible to conclude that all the protocols in force were respected”, one writes.
Mme Roy specifies that “the analysis of the circumstances and of the sequence of interventions carried out with the person shows that the closure of the Senneterre CLSC is not a factor that contributed to the person’s death”.
Minister must get involved
The mayor begs Minister Dubé to get personally involved in the matter and to order the reopening of the Senneterre emergency room. “This is the CISSSAT contingency plan, so we want Minister Dubé to take care of this specific issue. He has already been questioned, and he always says that he has confidence in the CISSSAT. We want answers, ”she explained in an interview.
The Town of Senneterre is currently mobilizing to recruit the four nurses who would be necessary for the reopening of the full-time facilities. “This is where we are,” added the new mayor. She also asks for “concrete measures” to avoid “any ambulance stripping”.
“Despite the collaboration of the CISSSAT to find solutions and recruit the missing workforce, the work is not done quickly enough. Winter has set in, the population is worried and we want at all costs to prevent a similar situation from happening again. It is absolutely essential that the Minister of Health and Social Services and the CEO of the CISSSAT review the terms of the contingency plan to ensure that the population has access to local services that meet their needs, ”she concludes.
Minister Dubé’s office had still not reacted to the departure of the City of Senneterre at the time of this writing.
The Senneterre Health Center serves a regional population of some 4,000 people.