Emergency Room

CLSC EMERGEnCY DEPARTMENTS: A reassuring meeting for elected officials

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Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

GRANDE-VALLÉE – The mayor of Grande-Vallée came away from a meeting with the president and CEO of the Gaspé Peninsula Integrated Health and Social Services Centre is somewhat relieved regarding the fate of the CLSC emergency department in his town. 

Noël Richard had the opportunity to discuss the situation of the CLSC in his town with Martin Pelletier on December 11. “We met with Mr. Pelletier and asked him directly what this restructuring meant for us, in the Estran sector. We were very reassured. There is no question of a service disruption at our emergency department 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” says Mayor Richard. 

Even though measures were taken, the mayor was assured that the service would remain. “Our population will continue to have the services. This is very good news,” continued Mr. Richard. 

A communication channel was established after the mayor learned of ongoing discussions about how services might be delivered. The emergency room in Grande-Vallée serves the population between Sainte-Anne-des-Monts and Gaspé. From Grande-Vallée, the closest hospitals are 100 kilometres away. 

“At the CISSS level, they are aware of this. If different options were available, we asked to work in collaboration with them,” says the mayor. 

This clarification made to elected officials follows a hypothesis launched by Mr. Pelletier following the Integrated Health and Social Services (CISSS) board of directors meeting of November 28 in the wake of the requested budgetary adjustments of $40 million to fit into the budget allocated by the Quebec government. 

The CEO had clearly stated that he was not considering reviewing the 24/7 emergency services in Grande-Vallée, Paspébiac and Murdochville. 

Instead, he had mentioned as a possible solution the use of nursing assistants attached to teleconsultation nurses to provide care. The mayor of Grande-Vallée had stated that if a nurse had to leave by ambulance for Gaspé, this would be equivalent to a breakdown in service. 

The prefect of the MRC de la Côte-de-Gaspé also attended the meeting. “It’s good news that there are no cuts in small emergencies and services to the population,” says Daniel Côté, who is also mayor of Gaspé. 

However, the Mr. Côté expressed disappointment over delayed infrastructure projects, such as the birthing room at the Maison de la famille Parenfant in Gaspé. 

“If the CISSS’s share is not there, the project must be postponed. It’s really a shame to see these projects from the community being postponed. There are other infrastructure projects directly in the hospital environment that must be postponed. This is a big downside. 

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Lachine doctor warns of “deeply concerning” failing ER stats

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By Chelsey St-Pierre
The Suburban

The Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) published troubling results of its 2023-2024 study of Quebec’s Emergency Room (ER) statistics revealing that 11.5 per cent of visitors left this past year before receiving medical treatment.

According to the study, conducted over an 11-month period, the number of patients who visited ERs over the last year is 3.2 million with 377,404 patients leaving prior to receiving medical care, mainly due to lengthy wait times averaging 5 hours and 13 minutes in ERs across Quebec. The data collected in the study does not include the number of patients that were referred to another health-care provider outside of the ER at the time of their visit.

The study, headed by economist Emmanuelle B. Faubert, also reveals that 27.5 per cent of the patients that left the ERs were category P1, P2 and P3 patients, all of which are patients requiring urgent care. Over 70 per cent of category P4 and P5 patients seeking non-urgent care left the ERs without being treated.

Faubert says that any patient leaving the ER is concerning. “A patient who leaves without treatment runs the risk of worsening his or her condition and returning to the emergency department as a more complex case.”

Dr. Paul Saba, a family physician in Lachine, Quebec, is calling the study “a tragic commentary on our healthcare system”.

“Many patients don’t have a family doctor or have tried to go to a clinic (prior to visiting an ER), so this often is their last resort. Most people with benign conditions won’t wait so many hours to be seen by an emergency room physician,” Saba explained to The Suburban.

In his ongoing fight entitled “Save the Lachine Hospital” Saba says that this is just one of many examples of how the healthcare system is failing to provide necessary services that can save lives and shorten wait times. “With the ICU closed at the Lachine Hospital since December 2020, this exacerbates waiting times for our patients, not only here but on the rest of the island.”

Faubert says that in consideration of increased budgets and reforms, this is a major problem. “This is a big problem because it shows that our health-care system is incapable of taking care of Quebecers and it’s dangerous when you consider that the population is aging and needs are increasing.” n

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Modular ER sparks hope at LGH

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By Chelsey St-Pierre
The Suburban

The transition from the Emergency Room (ER) to the modular ER went smoothly last week at the Lakeshore General Hospital (LGH). Lakeshore ER Department Chief Robert Nathanson told The Suburban that continuing to provide patient care during the execution of the transition was made a priority. “The transition went well because it was well planned. This required a lot of time and energy from a huge number of people to ensure the logistics would make for a smoother transition. Everything was in order by 5 a.m. on transition day. Triage was only closed for a short period and ambulance were diverted to other hospitals except for high priority emergencies. One by one all patients on stretchers were moved. Walk-ins were guided over with a chaperone. By 7:30 a.m. the moving of patients was 90% complete. By 10 a.m. the remaining patients were moved upstairs or discharged when their care was completed.”

The completion of the modular building and the transition is a first sign of hope for many as promises to improve the LGH ER were made in the past but nothing happened. At the announcement of this new construction plan, many critics shrugged it off as “just another plan”. Nathanson admitted that some plans were quashed and shed light on this issue by opening up and sharing details to The Suburban. “Previously when plans were made, we would run into the issue where we would have to cancel patient care in order to execute those plans. This is something we are adamant about and we didn’t want to negotiate with providing patient care. Yes the renovations were much needed and the condition and layout of the ER posed various challenges. A permanent structure that was built years ago is logistically difficult to update but we were not prepared to shut it down at the cost of patient care. This is why a ‘buffer’ space was needed and this buffer will serve us throughout our entire seven-year plan to renovate various sections of the hospital without compromising patient care. The modular ER will allow for the new permanent ER to be built. Once the new ER is built and the transition has been made, the modular building will serve as buffer space while other renovations are carried out step by step without cancelling any patient services. This did take longer and I was just as disappointed to cancel previous plans, but it was worth the wait because it will be done right.” Nathanson says that as a secondary (to patient care) bonus, the renovations using the “buffer” space are also more cost efficient.

Approximately 98% of the equipment in the modular ER is brand new. The ISO rooms and rooms for resuscitation are now situated in clear view of nursing stations. As part of the design, more sunlight throughout the modular ER lifts the mood and more space has been allocated in order to increase capacity from 31 to 38 stretchers.

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