Marc-André Dowd

By Chelsey St-Pierre

The West Island health authority (CIUSSS) and the Quebec health ministry received recommendations following an investigation conducted by the Quebec Ombudsman of the Lakeshore General Hospital (LGH), after multiple reports of negligence were filed.

“In January 2023, the Québec Ombudsman received several reports of negligence in the quality of care and services provided by Lakeshore General Hospital emergency staff,” Ombudsman Marc-André Dowd wrote. The Quebec Health Ministry requested an independent investigation into the hospital last February.

According to the report, the West Island health authority (CIUSSS-ODIM) and the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) are aware of the issues of difficult working conditions and work overload at Lakeshore General Hospital.

The investigation includes concerns about staff practices such as the excessive use of restraints. “The investigation showed that there were several flaws in this area,” Dowd determined. Restraints are control measures designed to limit a person’s movements to ensure both their safety and that of others. They can be physical, such as barriers, bindings and force, or chemical, such as sedatives.

Dowd noted that emergency staff lacked knowledge about the protocol governing control measures; restraints were sometimes used too quickly without alternative measures attempted first and there were shortcomings when it came to supervising and record-keeping use of the control measures.

Several recommendations were made to the Quebec Health Ministry as well as the West Island health authority and both are required to report back to the Ombudsman by April 30.

This hospital serves a population of more than 225,000 and its emergency room receives more than 40,000 visits a year, making it one of the busiest in Montreal. “Despite their heavy workload, all staff members are concerned about providing quality services and care to users,” Dowd stated. n