Weeks after man died following 2-hour wait, another ambulance coming for Abitibi town

Weeks after a Senneterre, Que., man died following a two-hour wait to be taken to hospital, the town is getting a second full-time ambulance. But the local mayor says her priority is a full-time emergency room. 

The regional health board in Abitibi-Témiscamingue authorized the additional 24-hour ambulance service this week. Meanwhile, Senneterre's ER has been operating only eight hours a day since mid-October due to lack of staff. 

Mayor Nathalie-Ann Pelchat says a 24-hour ER could have saved the life of 65-year-old Richard Genest, who died on Nov. 30, more than seven hours after he first called for an ambulance. 

Pelchat says a second emergency vehicle likely won't change much as long as the town's ER is only open in the daytime.

"Yes, [another ambulance] solves a certain problem," she said, "but what is really needed is to reopen the emergency room 24/7."

Senneterre's only ambulance was already en route to Val d'Or, nearly 70 kilometres away, with another patient when Genest called for an ambulance around 2:40 a.m., after the town's emergency room had closed.

Two hours later, Genest was taken to the hospital in Val d'Or and then transferred to the town of Amos, an hour away. He died in the elevator on his way to the operating table.

The region's public health authority (CISSS-AT) has said the overnight ER closure did not contribute to Genest's death. The Quebec coroner's office has opened an investigation.

In a statement the day after Genest's death, Maxime Laviolette, the general manager of the ambulance company responsible for transporting the patient, said the situation shows how necessary it is to invest in pre-hospital emergency services.

"The ball is clearly no longer in the court of the CISSS, CIUSSS or the ambulance companies," he said in a release. 

"The Ministry of Health and Social Services and the Treasury Board Secretariat must invest immediately in pre-hospital emergency services," he said, particularly in ambulance zones where paramedics are on call at their homes 24/7 rather than already being in the ambulance vehicle.

"We want lasting solutions to be put in place to resolve the systemic problems of our health network and we hope that this investigation will lead to recommendations to improve health care in Quebec."

Adding to her concerns that the province will continue ignoring her pleas to intervene and reopen her ER full time, mayor Pelchat said she's now also worried about the ability of the ambulance service company to recruit sufficient staff to operate its two ambulances 24 hours a day.