Well, it happened.
The action that was called for anonymously by a nurse in the Pontiac Community Hospital’s obstetrics unit (according to CBC in November of last year), was put into action by the CISSSO last Friday. The obstetrics unit is closed for the foreseeable future.
People are justifiably . . .
up in arms about the decision. The families in the region who had the audacity to plan on delivering their children within an hour of their homes have been robbed of a valuable resource.
The obstetrics unit is a key part of the hospital’s infrastructure but it should be viewed as the canary in the coal mine. The lack of nurses is affecting other departments in the hospital, as well as the many other health care facilities across the region.
An investigation by THE EQUITY late last year revealed that the CISSSO had spent hundreds of thousands on overtime for nurses at their clinics and long-term care homes in Pontiac, increasing steadily from when the health services were amalgamated in 2015.
This shows that they’re not hiring enough new staff and are relying too heavily on the nurses that are already employed in the system. Hats off to anyone that would voluntarily step into that kind of pressure cooker.
The MRC held a special meeting a week ago to discuss the route forward with the top brass from CISSSO, and there’s now a working group tasked with staying on top of the recruitment drive over the next six months. They also sent a sternly worded letter to the CAQ bosses in Quebec City, just before they release their budget, to address the inter-provincial wage gap that drives so many health care workers across the river. But, based on how little the CAQ seem to care about consulting the people they govern (the recently passed Bill 40 comes to mind), nobody should be holding their breath. It would be more in character for them to send hall monitors to ensure an appropriate amount of French is being spoken at the hospital.
Was their Outaouais point man, Mathieu Lacombe (who incidentally is also the minister for families), just blowing smoke when he stood in the National Assembly last year and declared that the Outaouais health care system is underfunded? Readers can reach his office toll-free at 1 866 971 7974 or by email at Mathieu.Lacombe.PAPI@assnat.qc.ca.
What else is to be done about this debacle? Local officials have stated that the MRC needs to do its part to attract and retain professionals in the region. This area has been bleeding residents since the mills closed and what, exactly, has changed in the interim? Will cheap land and a welcome wagon gift basket lure anyone away from the convenience of the city or will this region become just another casualty of urbanization?
If there’s a community that can band together to save their hospital, it’s the Pontiac. Remember the dialysis unit and how unattainable that goal seemed?
This is the biggest threat to our region’s vitality since Smurfit-Stone closed just over a decade ago. Two protests aren’t enough to project the outrage to Quebec City, more needs to be done.
Caleb Nickerson
