Last week, two patients died in the emergency room of Chattogram Hospital in two days, waiting to be treated by a doctor amid record traffic and endless waits.
“It’s important,” responded a hospital employee on condition of anonymity, describing the situation as “horrendous.” I’m afraid. Emergency personnel shoulder the responsibility for these patients.
For several days now, Quebec has been flooded with emergencies, especially due to outbreaks of respiratory viruses. At the Anna-Laberge Hospital, two patients died without seeing a doctor, according to our sources.
He waited for 12 hours
Last Wednesday, an elderly patient lost consciousness and suffered a heart attack and died in the evening. He waited 12 hours for stomach pain. According to our information, it is classified as Priority 3 (P3).
Generally, these cases should be seen within 30 minutes. But last week, an employee confirms that P3s were found within 24 hours. The patient was seen on more than one occasion and was stable.
“If we had seen him before, would we have saved him?” asks the employee who doesn’t answer.
The next day, another patient died on a stretcher while waiting to be seen by a doctor. We were told he was having shortness of breath.
For many employees, these two deaths are unfortunately not surprising, but they do add additional stress.
“We have been crying for help for years and somewhere something is stopping us,” said one of them.
For its part, the Integrated Health and Social Services Center of Montérégie-Ouest (CISSS) responded by email, saying it takes these situations “very seriously” and offers its condolences to the families. However, we refuse to divulge the details of the deceased.
“Although they are [ces situations] In this context of exceptional traffic, it remains true that they in no way represent the quality of service we aim to provide,” writes communications manager Jade St-Jean.
A log block
On average, the emergency department received 50 ambulances per day last week, or 10 more than average, underlines the CISSS. Last Monday, there was also a record 65. Several patients were also transferred to Châteauguay after a scanner broke down at the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield hospital.
Both deaths are currently under investigation both internally and at the coroner’s office, the CISSS confirms. Meetings are planned in the short term with the Ministry of Health and Social Services to find ways to ease the pressure. Health Minister Christian Dubey also visited the site on Sunday.
“The reported facts are very disturbing,” the minister’s office wrote.
Additional beds have been opened in the day clinic and non-priority patients are referred to medical clinics.
According to Quebec’s Association of Emergency Medicine Specialists, emergency room traffic is becoming unsustainable in many places.
“200% for two or three days, we can hard. But it has been going on for two, three weeks now. We sure will miss it [des patients]. Doctors are nervous. […] At the moment, triage is one of the worst jobs in Quebec for nurses,” underscores Dr. Gilbert Boucher, president of the association.
Anna-Laberge emergency in statistics yesterday
- 191% driving rate
- 32 stretchers are planned
- 61 patients are on stretcher
- 20 patients waiting more than 48 hours (target 0)
Source: Health Code
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