Montrealers protest Lachine Hospital's decision to no longer accept ambulances
CBC
As of Tuesday, the emergency room for Montreal's Lachine Hospital no longer accepts patients who arrive by ambulance, but residents are pushing back against that decision, saying it could put people at risk.
Paramedics will now have to transport patients to other hospitals in the area.
The Lachine Hospital's ER will continue to operate every day between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., for walk-in patients. It will remain closed overnight.
The latest change does not affect people who have appointments at the hospital.
The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) announced that the ER would close overnight in October 2021. Since then, the services offered — from ER operating hours to paramedics' ability to drive patients there — have varied.
The decision to redirect ambulances to nearby hospitals was necessary due to staffing challenges, according to Claudine Lamarre, the MUHC's director of professional services.
"Human resources have been difficult to maintain and to increase," Lamarre said. "All of this was certainly triggered in part by the COVID pandemic so we've had to really rethink our service in order to answer and take care of our patients and to optimize access."
Lamarre said ensuring there are enough nurses, respiratory therapists and physicians on site has been difficult.
She said the service cut is part of the "first step to redefine the Lachine Hospital," but the news isn't going over well with residents.
On Tuesday, a group gathered in front of the hospital and urged health authorities to reverse their decision.
According to Dr. Paul Saba, the former president of the hospital's council of physicians who still practises family medicine there, the hospital still has enough staff to deal with patients arriving by ambulance. He says the change is unnecessary and dangerous.
"Some people call it restructuring but this is not a business. These are peoples' lives that are at stake," said Saba, adding that resources have been directed away from the hospital.
"It's basically taking from a community hospital to relocate downtown."
The MUHC is expected to address reporters at the hospital on Tuesday.