Health Minister, Christian Dubey, failed in job, condemns Quebec’s protest, a day after a strong walkout by Quebec’s emergency chiefs who denounced the “out of control” situation in their services.
“Minister Dube has failed in his responsibilities,” said Liberal MP Andre Fortin. Pres reported on Saturday.
In a letter to the Minister of Health, the Regroupement des chefs d’urgence du Québec (RCUQ) condemns it. “The attention of all ministers was concentrated” on Christian Dubey’s sweeping reforms while the emergencies “were out of control”. The health network has “completely frozen” and the situation in emergencies has “deteriorated dramatically”.
Photo by Edward Plant-Freshette, La Presse Archives
Official Opposition Spokesperson for Health, Liberal MP Andre Fortin.
“When emergency managers repeatedly question a minister and warn of the serious consequences for patients, he has no right to ignore their concerns,” said a spokesman for the official opposition party on health affairs.
Since August, emergency physicians’ associations have repeatedly warned ministerial committees about overcrowding in emergency rooms. In late November, two patients died in an overcrowded emergency room at Anna-Laberge Hospital in Chattogram. Inquiries are open.
“Recent deaths in waiting rooms, as publicized as they are, are only the tip of the iceberg,” argued the head of RCUQ.D Marie-Maude Couture.
“When it becomes clear that there are people who die without seeing a doctor, it’s even more serious,” criticized Unity MP Vincent Marisal. According to him, Christian Dubey “flagrantly failed in his first mission and in his mandate to ensure that people have services.”
Last year, Quebec created a crisis unit to reduce emergency room overcrowding. According to DD Marie-Maud Couture said these efforts brought “improvements in some companies,” but they later ran out of steam. Since Bill 15 was tabled last March, meetings of the Crisis Unit have been few and far between.
On Friday, Minister Christian Dubey’s office confirmed that he had been visiting emergency rooms since last week.
“The situation in our emergency rooms worries us. We follow it every day with the teams. Our role is to make sure that the urgent ones are handled and at the same time work on the important ones. All the people are there to do that,” we assured.
“It’s disturbing today to learn that emergency managers have been calling the ministry for months in vain,” PQ MP Joel Arseneau responded, criticizing Christian Dubey for turning a “deaf ear”.
His ministerial responsibility is at stake at this time as he washes his hands of a crisis that has become permanent, with its risks to the quality of care, healthcare patients and staff.
Joel Arsenault, PQ MP
Recently, the President of the Association of Emergency Medicine Specialists, Dr.R Gilbert Boucher admitted that the situation in the emergency room was “starting to scare” his members.
“There are hospitals that are at 200% capacity for two weeks, and it’s during this time, precisely, that there are patients who come to the waiting rooms, who are not seen and die,” he pointed out. An interview in early December Pres.
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