The CT scanner at the Pontiac Community Hospital was recently out of order. Repairs were to be done by the following Tuesday. For patients needing a scan in the meantime, a “corridor of service’’ was set up — a nice 168 km round trip to Gatineau to get a scan. That is quite a long corridor.
Were we told about the machine breaking down? No. Were we told that patients would be transported by ambulance or other means to get “down that corridor?’’ No. Fortunately, it was back running sooner than expected so, by Saturday, a nice person informed the public through social media that things where back to normal. Was it the TV news report that help speed up the process? Was it because the reporter got many reactions from the public, including yours humbly?
Where was CISSSO with announcing the breakdown and the return of the scan? Nowhere to be seen or heard. It was a spokesperson from the Quebec Health Minister’s office that answered questions from the inquisitive reporter.
Patients and their families need to be informed when . . .
events of that nature happen, not left in the dark. It is especially distressing to know that when patients are being carted off to the city for the scan, it leaves our area with one less ambulance to answer calls. In some cases, a nurse must accompany the patient, so that leaves one less nurse at the hospital.
Is a scan that important? Well, it is now very commonly used by doctors to help establish some diagnoses, along with other tools such as X-rays and blood work. The machine shows the soft tissues within the human body and, with the addition of a dye-like substance, the doctor gets a very precise idea of the inner workings of the suspected defective organ.
So, yes, it is now a very important tool in a hospital. Unfortunately, the one at our hospital is past its prime. This is the third breakdown this year of a machine that should have been replaced in 2020. The authorization was only given in 2021, and now CISSSO is scrambling to order a new one while trying to keep the old one running.
I remember when we got our first CT scanner, because doctors had told the Pontiac Community Hospital Foundation that it was an essential tool for them. How many fundraisers were held? Too many to count — from spaghetti suppers to hot dog lunches along the PPJ, and so many donations were received to buy the machine.
I learned, many years after, that the Agence de la santé (the regional body overseeing health services at that time) was not thrilled that we had raised enough money to buy the scanner. It was bought and installed before all the city hospitals had theirs. It helps you understand how it often happened that the rural hospitals were the last ones to have important tools installed on their premises. Are we seeing history repeating itself again, as far as having rural communities being put last?
Maybe, the health minister should have a specialist do a “scan’’ of a patient by the name of CISSSO. The organs and inner workings of that organization do not seem to be working properly with regards to the Pontiac Community Hospital patients’ needs . . . and, who knows, we might come up with a diagnosis and a treatment to get our hospital back into the top shape it once had, before the huge amalgamation.
Josey Bouchard is a teacher, municipal councillor, volunteer on the Board of Directors of the Pontiac Agriculture Society and spokesperson for Pontiac Voice, a health services advocacy group in the Pontiac.
