Mr. Minister,
The emergency doctors of the Outaouais region, with a unanimous voice, are addressing you, because the critical situation prevailing in our region is no longer tenable and our population is in danger. It will soon no longer be possible, in Outaouais, to offer safe, quality emergency care.
As emergency physicians, we see the sickest patients and our mission is to care for them. In recent years, we have witnessed the erosion of our ability to provide quality care to these patients. Delays in accessing the emergency room for laboratory tests and imaging as well as the significant shortage of nurses compromise our ability to meet the needs of our patients. The proximity of our region to Ontario is causing a massive exodus of health care workers to this province, which offers much more attractive salary and working conditions. It is no longer possible for our teams to compete with our neighbor.
The Outaouais region, which includes the fourth largest city in Quebec, no longer has any access to imaging in its emergency room at the CLSC in Saint-André-Avellin. The scan at Papineau hospital operates in the evening exclusively on the basis of overtime and only operates at night on call. There is no more imaging after 8 p.m. at Wakefield and Maniwaki, a trauma center. The mobile MRI unit was closed in Gatineau. The Pontiac already operates on night call. Recently, we learned of the imminent departure of three more technologists from our regional secondary trauma center in Hull. This critical situation will inevitably cause a breakdown in imaging service in the facility that receives traumatology, neurology, neurosurgery and cardiology.
Remember that in 2020, it only took 2.5 hours after the breakdown of the scan at Hull hospital for a death, partly attributable to this breakdown, to occur. Operating an emergency without imaging capabilities is simply impossible.
Remember, Mr. Dubé, that we had to close the Gatineau emergency room in 2021 due to a lack of nurses. We reopened eight months later, but today the emergency is once again hanging by a thread thanks to our team of dedicated nurses, which is only 29% full.
Don’t abandon the citizens of Outaouais! You have the means to take concrete actions to prevent deaths that would otherwise be attributable to the absence of a solution immediately from you. As head of the Outaouais emergency department, I urge you, Minister, to take the necessary measures immediately to remedy this situation. The only solution that can ensure the maintenance of services, beyond one-off replacements, is to offer our health professionals the same salary conditions that Ontario offers theirs.
Without your intervention, it is no longer possible to ensure the safety and well-being of the population of Outaouais. Citizens of Outaouais should not be penalized because they live near Ottawa.
Its a question of life or death.
Please accept, Mr. Minister, the expression of my distinguished greetings.
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reference: www.lapresse.ca