CALEB NICKERSON
SHAWVILLE Oct. 30, 2019
The obstetrics unit at the Pontiac Community Hospital (PCH) . . .
experienced another break in services this past week that extended from Wednesday to Monday.
This is the fifth interruption that CISSSO has announced in the past month, and lasted longer than the previous breaks, listed below:
Sept. 27 at 4 p.m. to Sept. 30 at 8 a.m.
Oct. 9 at midnight to Oct. 10 at 8 p.m.
Oct. 11 at noon to Oct. 14 at 8 p.m.
Oct. 18 at 8 a.m. to Oct. 21 at 8 a.m.
Oct. 23 at 8 a.m. to Oct. 28 at 4 p.m.
The issue caused stress for one local mother earlier this month, who was transferred to Gatineau along with her newborn due to a lack of staff at PCH.
Virginia Lavigne of Luskville had been advised by her doctor at her weekly appointment on Sept. 30 that there was a possibility of a break that week, so when her water broke on Oct. 2, her mother called PCH to ask where to take her.
“Over the phone, they said ‘Nope, bring her to Shawville,’” Lavigne said. “About five minutes later, they called back and said, ‘Nope, bring her to Gatineau because there will be a break in service as of 8 o’clock this evening.’”
With her contraction picking up and not enough time to make the 45 minute drive to Gatineau, they called 911 and Lavigne’s sister and birthing coach prepared to deliver the baby herself.
Luckily, paramedics arrived and since they had no instructions to the contrary, began the trip up the highway to Shawville with Lavigne’s husband, Benoit Wolfe, following close behind.
They only made it about eight kilometres, before they had to pull over and deliver little Vincent Wolfe at chemin Hammond and Hwy. 148.
Once they arrived at PCH, both mother and son were looked after, but also told that they would be transferred to Gatineau that evening, as there wasn’t enough staff to care for them overnight.
At 9:40 p.m., they were loaded into an ambulance and driven down to the city, where they stayed for two days.
“It was pretty shocking, I have to say,” Lavigne said. “My first birth was in Shawville, and my husband was born in Shawville as well. During our first stay there, it was amazing, the nurses were great, the doctors were great … It wasn’t the ideal situation, but luckily everything went really well.”
Lavigne said that she was lucky there were no complications. She added that she was treated exceptionally by the staff when she arrived, but she could tell they were getting worn out. She said one of her nurses told her he hadn’t had a break all day.
“They provide the health care that they can and they’re doing the best that they can,” she said. “You can see that they’re tired. It’s not an ideal situation for any mom.”
Local MNA André Fortin took the province’s Health Minister, Danielle McCann, to task on the issue of service breaks during question period in the National Assembly on Oct. 23, repeatedly asking how she planned to address the situation.
“It’s important to us to keep raising the issue for them to know that the Pontiac has a very significant issue, and while she didn’t have any specific answer at that moment, at least she acknowledged that it was one of the most significant problems across the province,” he told THE EQUITY on Saturday.
On Oct. 24, CISSSO announced that they would be sending two nurses from the Jewish Hospital in Montreal to work in alternating, week-long shifts in the obstetrics unit, for an indefinite amount of time, starting in November. Fortin said that they would use the time to expedite training for more nurses at Montreal.
“It’s not what we need, it’s not what’s going to fix the issue permanently or in the long term, but it will give our nurses here a little bit of reprieve,” he said. “They’ve been working crazy hours, they’ve been single-handedly keeping things afloat, but the current situation isn’t working and we need to find a solution still.”
Pontiac Warden Jane Toller said that she has been in discussions with CISSSO representatives on the issue, and added that they will be attending the next MRC council meeting in November to make a “significant” announcement.
