CARLETON-SUR-MER – Pressure is mounting on the government of Quebec to initiate the modernization of the emergency department at Maria Hospital, as the Avignon and Bonaventure MRCs and the municipalities served by the hospital centre will be called upon to adopt a resolution to that effect.

Municipal officials will follow in the lead of the board of directors of the CISSS de la Gaspésie, which adopted a resolution on September 28 to have the renovation included in the Quebec Infrastructure Plan (Plan québécois des infrastructures) this fall.

“It’s a priority for the Avignon MRC. It’s also a priority for the CISSS. The Bonaventure MRC is on board too. What we want is a new emergency department and intensive care unit. The needs are undeniable,” explains the prefect of the Avignon MRC, Mathieu Lapointe.

“The file is complete. It’s in Quebec City. We want the project to be included in the PQI (Programme québécois d’infrastructures), the investment plan of the Quebec government,” says the prefect.

“We now know that it’s at the political level that this project will move forward. All the municipalities that have Maria as their referral hospital will be asked to adopt a resolution to request a complete refurbishment of the emergency department and intensive care unit in the coming weeks,” adds Mr. Lapointe.

The project has been on the table since 2018.

“It really is time. Even the premier said so when he came (to Carleton-sur-Mer in July 2020), and Minister Dubé (Christian, Minister of Health) also visited the facilities last year. Everyone is aware of the dilapidated state of the facilities. It’s a priority for the CISSS de la Gaspésie,” adds Mr. Lapointe.

He cites narrow corridors, a lack of confidentiality during care, and the fact that the emergency department and intensive care are not physically adjacent as examples.

It took 20 years for the reconstruction project of the Gaspé hospital emergency department to become a reality in July 2021.

“We’ve been calling for a new hospital, a new emergency department and intensive care unit for several years now. All the work and the arguments are done. We’re really at the political stage,” says the prefect, who received a visit from the president of the board of directors of the CISSS, Richard Loiselle, the same person who had the board of directors adopt a resolution to urge Quebec to act.

In brief, the resolution requested that the Board of Directors and its president take steps to ensure that the Maria emergency project is included in the PQI this fall, and to take steps to obtain strategic support to ensure that the project was recognized as a regional priority.

At the time, Mr. Loiselle indicated that the process could allow for intervention with political authorities, considering “that this project is highly strategic for the quality of healthcare for people using the Maria hospital”.

The chief executive officer (CEO) and President of the CISSS, Martin Pelletier, had withdrawn from the debate since, as a voting member of the Board of Directors, he did not want to be in a conflict of interest regarding his functions.

Mr. Pelletier had brought this priority to the forefront upon taking office in May 2022.

He had initiated the file when he was the Director of Technical Services during the creation of the CISSS in April 2015.