A worker at the Cité-de-la-Santé hospital in Laval was seriously injured on December 23 in the psychiatric wing, after being the victim of an attack. The employee, a specialist in pacification and security (ISPS), lost a piece of a finger which had to be amputated.
TVA Nouvelles obtained a copy of the CNESST investigation report, in which the Laval Integrated Health and Social Services Center (CISSS) is singled out for several failings.
Around 8 p.m., ISPS was monitoring a patient in his room when he was caught off guard. As he turned around after hearing a noise in the hallway, the patient, classified at high risk of violence, took the opportunity to get up and suddenly close the door, causing the worker to be seriously injured.
Although the officer had been hired only six months earlier, he was unaware of the high-risk profile of the patient he was monitoring.
The employee was quickly attended to by a nurse, but the injury was serious enough to require amputation of his right ring finger.
LCN screenshot
The CNESST report highlights several exceptions in the organization of work, highlighting a lack of training, communication and inappropriate safety methods.
According to the investigation, the lack of crucial patient information compromised responder safety and increased the risk of injury.
The report, dated January 13, 2025, specifies that “the organization of work and the methods for carrying it out are not safe”, thus highlighting a serious failure in practices aimed at protecting healthcare personnel.
The CISSS reacts
The CISSS de Laval refused our interview request and does not explain the exceptions observed in the CNESST report.
By email, the Center wrote: “In psychiatric units, it is important to respect the protocols in place to ensure the safety of employees and users.”
A response that strongly provoked the president of the union of CSN workers of the CISSS de Laval. “What I find deplorable is that the spotlight seems to be on the young man in question. It’s not easy for him. We need to be in solutions and concreteness,” replies President Nathalie Bourque.
She adds: “The agent who carried out the surveillance must have access to a detailed plan: the profile, how to intervene. If there isn’t that, there is no protocol to follow. We’re not saying this yesterday, it takes good communication, good support and everyone being aware of the plan and exactly how to intervene.”
This is the second time an employee in the psychiatric wing has had a fingertip torn off. It happened to a nurse in January 2022.
According to the president of the Union of Nurses, Respiratory Therapists and Practical Nurses of Laval (SIIIAL-CSQ), there are employer shortcomings in the psychiatric wing.
“Workers always feel worried in this environment. They are traumatized. That’s two people losing fingertips in the space of three years. The problem is that the clientele who commit this type of attack should not be at the Cité-de-la-Santé,” says Dereck Cyr, president of SIIIAL-CSQ.
The CISSS de Laval had to carry out work to secure the psychiatric unit. It had a budget of $8M.
According to our information, work is still on pause. In photos that TVA Nouvelles obtained, we can see mold in showers and on walls.
“It is suspended due to cuts of 1.5 billion by the CISSS de Laval despite commitments to the coroner and to the union. An environment for mental health clients, showers that are inadequate, care cannot be given adequately and rehabilitation is more difficult to return home.
In response, the CISSS de Laval wrote: “Over the past few years, the CISSS de Laval has invested eight million dollars in a sequence of renovations of the psychiatric units at the Cité-de-la-Santé Hospital. The CISSS de Laval was aware of mold in the sanitary block and, despite the postponement of work linked to the context of a balanced budget, the organization was planning, and still plans, to carry out the work on the sanitary block in the coming weeks.
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