Members of the Atikamekw community of Manawan gathered Friday afternoon to attend the funeral of a seven-month-old girl who lost her life last Monday at the CHU Sainte-Justine. A death that is a cruel reminder of the lack of health services and ambulances in Manawan, deplore relatives and representatives of the indigenous community.
According to testimonies collected by The dutya call was made to the Manawan Health Center last Saturday by the girl’s parents, who were then in Saint-Michel-des-Saints, a village of 2,500 souls in the MRC of Matawinie, in Lanaudière.
The parents would then have had to wait a long time for a paramedic, who then transported the girl 88 km north on a poor road to Manawan.
“I was told that there were paramedics on the scene, but they had exceeded their scheduled hours, so another ambulance arrived to transport the baby,” said the To have to the Chief of the Atikamekw Council of Manawan, Paul-Émile Ottawa, who said he was shaken by his death.
The health services offered in this area being limited, the little girl was transported to the hospital in Joliette, 3 hours away. After a brief stop in this hospital center, the infant was transported to the CHU Sainte-Justine, an hour away.
According to a relative, whose anonymity has been kept to protect the identity of the little girl, the latter, who died of bacterial meningitis, was placed on an artificial respirator over the weekend, before losing her life last Monday. The funeral was held Friday afternoon in the church of Manawan, in the presence of many relatives.
Joined by The duty, the CHU Sainte-Justine did not want to comment on “this particular case” for reasons of “confidentiality”. The CISSS de Lanaudière for its part confirmed that an “investigation is underway” to take stock of this situation.
“We are going to do everything to make changes,” says a relative, determined, despite her sadness, to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
” Gaps “
According to Mr. Ottawa, this death also demonstrates “that there are shortcomings [dans les services de santé offerts à Manawan], despite all the efforts that have been made in recent years. In 2018, after years of struggle, the indigenous reserve finally obtained the presence of an ambulance to serve its population. But the staff remains insufficient, observes Mr. Ottawa, while a loved one reports in an interview about the inadequate care offered at the Manawan Health Centre.
“It’s a pity that there is the death of a child so that we realize that there are things to improve,” sighs Mr. Ottawa.
“We want to see how we can improve this service, how the Government of Quebec can become more involved in the current situation,” assures the vice-chief of the Atikamekw community of Manawan, Sipi Flamand. The latter also wonders why a helicopter was not requisitioned to quickly transport the girl to a hospital center. “She might still be here,” if so, sighs a friend of the girl’s mother.
“The family, with whom I was able to communicate recently, they say they no longer want this situation to happen in the community,” adds Mr. Flamand. “We don’t want situations like what we experienced last Saturday to happen. »
The Coroner’s Office has not confirmed to To have to whether an inquest has been opened into the death on Friday.
“It’s a pity that there is the death of a child so that we realize that there are things to improve. »