After closing 23 hospital beds in May, the Suroît hospital in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield will close 36 more this month in order to meet Quebec’s goal of stopping using agency staff by October 20. The head of the emergency department is concerned that patients in the region could be put in danger.
In a letter sent Wednesday to the CEO of the Integrated Health and Social Services Center of Montérégie-Ouest (CISSSMO) and that The Press obtained, the head of the Suroît emergencies, Dr.r Bernard Richard denounces the decision to close 36 beds.
“I understand the desire (or the order of the [ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux]) to want to free itself from independent labor, but is it necessary to make the population of the CISSSMO pay so much and seriously jeopardize the medical practice of Suroît? », he writes.
According to the Dr Richard, the “drastic cuts” that the CISSS is “forced to make” are “the worst possible solution.” “Much worse,” in his opinion, than “paying nurses adequately [d’agences] who come to help the Suroît”.
The doctor warns that the emergency room will soon be “dangerous” in size. Patients will be stuck there for “several days/weeks” due to a lack of space on the floors, he says. Operations will be delayed “due to a lack of beds,” he adds, leading to complications for patients waiting. Even emergency operations could be affected. Staff will be even more exhausted.
The Dr Richard warns the CEO that this decision puts medical recruitment at risk. Specialist doctors and general practitioners – whose special medical activity (AMP) is hospitalization – “need” beds to work.
“How are you going to be able to open 450 beds in Vaudreuil-Soulanges in 3 years… if the CISSSMO is not even able to keep 36 open in Suroît?” asks Dr.r Richard.
Ambulances redirected
Asked to respond, the CISSS de la Montérégie-Ouest confirmed that 6 beds were closed on Tuesday and that 30 more will be closed in the coming weeks. It explained that these closures are intended to end the use of independent labour as of October 20. This deadline is imposed on health establishments in Montreal, Laval, Montérégie, Chaudière-Appalaches and the Capitale-Nationale.
In total, a quarter of the 237 beds in Suroît will be closed, according to information provided by the CISSS de la Montérégie-Ouest.
These closures will lead to a redistribution of ambulance services in the region. “There are about a dozen ambulances [par jour] which, instead of arriving at the Suroît hospital, will be redistributed to Montérégie or Montreal,” says the deputy CEO of the CISSS de la Montérégie-Ouest, Dominique Pilon.
From now on, patients from Salaberry-de-Valleyfield will be transported by ambulance to the Anna-Laberge hospital in Châteauguay, rather than to Suroît — an “aberration,” says Dr.r Richard in his letter.
“It’s certain that the users of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield would have been better off if they had stayed [dans leur ville] “, recognizes Dominique Pilon.
But it was necessary to ensure that patients from the various municipalities could be transported to the hospital within a certain time frame, he argues.
Dominique Pilon assures that patients from Salaberry-de-Valleyfield deemed priority 1 (heart attack, stroke, trauma, etc.) will continue to be transported to Suroît.
This solution, he says, is “the best” that was found by Santé Québec and the CISSS pre-hospital service. He hopes it will be temporary. The Suroît hospital has already set up a virtual care hospital unit to compensate for the closure of beds at the end of May.
In this context, is the October 20 deadline realistic? “In light of what we’re doing, it’s not realistic,” replies Dominique Pilon. “We’re closing beds. At the same time, we need to give ourselves a date to get there.” According to him, 24 agency nurses are currently saying they’re interested in a position at the CISSS de la Montérégie-Ouest, but have still not joined its ranks. The deadline could encourage them to take the leap.
Recruitment campaign for the future Vaudreuil-Soulanges hospital
The CISSS de la Montérégie-Ouest is conducting a recruitment campaign to hire staff at the future Vaudreuil-Soulanges hospital, which will have 404 beds. Its strategy? Offer nurses who want to work in the future establishment the opportunity to join its ranks now, by working evenings or nights at the Suroît hospital or the Anna-Laberge hospital, in order to obtain a position in Vaudreuil-Soulanges.
The CISSS has posted some 760 positions internally at the Vaudreuil-Soulanges hospital. About 70% have already found takers. If the others are not filled, they will be posted externally.
“What we say is: ‘If you want to have priority for these positions, come work for us, you will be able to access one of these positions’,” says Dominique Pilon.
The CISSS has received 61 resumes so far, including 25 from nurses. “We have 16 people in the hiring process,” he said. The future hospital is scheduled to open in December 2026.