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Faced with a shortage of staff expected to worsen as the holiday season begins, the province announced on Wednesday that it will reduce services to several emergency rooms this summer.
The entrance to Lachine Hospital on Wednesday, June 22, 2022. Photo by John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette
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The Quebec government is abandoning people in need of care and could endanger lives by partially closing several emergency rooms in the province, doctors and patients’ rights advocates warn.
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Faced with a shortage of staff expected to worsen as the holiday season begins, the province announced on Wednesday that it will reduce services to six emergency rooms this summer.
But the government was urged to reconsider the decision or offer concrete alternatives to prevent gaps in care in the coming months.
“No community emergency room should ever be closed,” said Dr. Paul Saba, chief of the board of doctors at Lachine Hospital.
“It increases the risk of mortality, especially for time-sensitive diseases such as heart attacks, strokes and serious infectious diseases. Studies have confirmed this.”
Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé on Wednesday announced service cuts, saying the government had no choice as there were not enough health workers available.
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A total of 59,600 employees are expected to be absent from the health network this summer. That’s almost 8,000 more than last year.
Speaking to Quebec City journalists, Dubé said there were many reasons for the shortage.
Some workers have left the network altogether, some are being treated for long COVID-19s and many others will have summer vacations this year after they were not allowed to take any last year.
“The main reason it will be more difficult is because the government made a clear commitment to the nurses and all the staff that there would be holidays this summer,” Dubé said. “It’s normal for people to want to rest. Our nurses have worked hard for the last two years. “
The minister, however, did not hide the effects of the shortage.
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“It’s going to be a tough summer,” Dubé said. “We know we’re going to have to reorganize services, but we’re working with managers to minimize the impact.”
There are 117 emergency rooms in Quebec.
Emergency services will be partially closed at Coaticook Hospital in the Eastern Townships, the emergency clinic in Windsor, La Mitis Hospital in the Lower St Lawrence region and the emergency clinics in Fortierville in the Mauricie and Témiscaming-Kipawa region in Abitibi-Témiscamingue. .
The emergency room at Lachine Hospital will also continue to operate on a part-time basis, remaining closed to ambulances at night.
In an interview on Wednesday, patients’ rights advocate Paul Brunet said the shortage was predictable and the government should have been prepared with a better solution.
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The president of the Conseil pour la protection des malades, Brunet, said it was unacceptable to close the emergency room without offering other options to those who depend on them.
“Patients are stuck,” Brunet said.
“What do you think of offering an alternative? Or are you looking for alternatives? Do a little more than say, “Well, we need to close the emergency rooms,” he added. “That’s not the way to treat patients.”
In a statement, the Ministry of Health said it was working to find ways to ensure that Quebeckers had access to top-notch health services.
He also urged people to avoid going to the emergency room if possible or to choose one that is close and open using the 811 hotline.
Dubé said that despite the shortage, Quebec does not anticipate a drop in the number of surgeries to be performed. The province is still trying to catch up with the backlog created during the pandemic.
According to the Health Index website, as of Wednesday evening, the highest ER occupancy rates in the Montreal area were at Royal Victoria Hospital (185 percent of capacity), the Jewish General Hospital (181 percent) and Lakeshore General Hospital (165 percent). .
pauthier@postmedia.com
jfeith@postmedia.com
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