The guillotine falls on health care with Amos as the first victim
Rouyn-Noranda, August 22, 2017 — While the public is off enjoying the summer, the Abitibi-Témiscamingue CISSS discreetly makes major changes to its service offer. The FIQ urges elected officials and the public to ask questions and stand up for their right to safe, quality healthcare services regardless of what region they live in.
On August 3 of this year, the CISSS-AT informed the FIQ-SISSAT that senior management had decided to permanently close 18 beds at the Amos hospital centre. Closing this number of beds will affect the whole Amos population to some degree, leading the FIQ-SISSAT to fear the worst.
New management going it alone
Vicky Lessard, Vice-President in charge of the Amos sector for the FIQ-SISSAT, explains that management is going against the report issued by the strategy committee, which she set up, and was composed of patients, doctors, department heads, specialists, etc. The committee had recommended implementing the necessary services before closing six beds in mid-September. They were trying to reassess the impacts in order to gradually transform others, as needed.
“In response to the report, senior management said there would be no waiting and that 18 beds instead of 12 would be closed starting in mid-August in Amos. From what we’ve seen, the CISSS has only implemented a third of the required measures to ensure the continuity of care for patients. In short, they’re condemning patients to the emergency room’s revolving doors or the CHSLD’s hallways,” lamented Vicky Lessard.
“The majority of these beds are occupied by seniors. By rushing the matter, the CISSS-AT is passing the buck back to caregivers who are often at the end of their rope. The managers we met with say they too are just as worried. As for staff, there’s talk of job cuts and a loss of expertise in very important units which maintain a certain balance when home care is no longer possible and there is a lack of room in other facilities,” says Ms. Lessard.
The CISSS claims to be transparent
After verifying sources, it became clear that no elected official or community organization was informed of the CISSS-AT’s decision, even though they will have to manage the subsequent increase in demand. “It has been underway for a few weeks now and no effort was made to inform the public about the reduction in services. What’s worse is that they’re making the changes in the middle of summer vacation in an attempt to hide it,” fumed Carole Gendron, President of the FIQ-SISSAT.
The public should be questioning it. “More cuts are being made to public health services in Abitibi-Témiscamingue while there’re budget surpluses in Quebec City. I’d like to know what our regional minister has to say about this issue. Are we ever going to hear from him?” asked the president.