The contingency plan of the CISSS de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue is the first victim. A patient collided with the closed doors of the Senneterre emergency room on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday and then died two hours later, after 140 kilometers in an ambulance.
The Senneterrois Richard Genest suffered Tuesday evening from pain in the abdomen. He then contacted the emergency services and the paramedics took him to Val-d’Or, 70 kilometers from his home.
Since mid-October, the emergency services center has only been open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in this municipality of Abitibi. “Before that, the ambulance had the right to stop to stabilize a patient at the health center. Since the emergency closed 16 hours a day, the directive from the paramedics is that they no longer have the right to stop in Senneterre. They cannot make a decision about the patient’s condition. It is immediately direction Val-d’Or ”, tells the To have to the mayoress of Senneterre, Nathalie-Ann Pelchat.
“He drove 70 kilometers to go to Val-d’Or for the doctor to meet and diagnose him and there, the doctor sent him back to Amos because that is where a vascular surgeon could treat him” , she continues. “It’s another 70 kilometers of ambulance. “
Two hours after his call for help, Mr. Genest’s condition deteriorated. He ended up dying on the way to the operating table in the lift of the Amos health center, reports the mayor. “Taking care of the patient five minutes earlier could have changed everything. “
“We knew it would happen, we just didn’t know when,” she adds. “Today, a whole community is in mourning. “
The staff shortage explains, at least, in part, this uncovering of services. “To provide full services”, it is now “240 nurses [supplémentaires] that would be required, ”explained the CEO of the local CISSS, Caroline Roy, at a press conference last September. “This is a figure that evolves, that grows month by month. “
“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 CISSSAT review the terms of the contingency plan to ensure the population has access to local services that meet their needs ”, indicates the mayor. .