Renovations began Monday in “814”, a dilapidated room at the Honoré-Mercier hospital in Saint-Hyacinthe, where a woman suffering from terminal cancer had to end her days. A plastic sheet covers the entrance to the room, access to which is now blocked, noted The Press on site.
Published yesterday at 5:55 p.m.
Columnist Paul Arcand told on Saturday the story of Louise Cloutier, a 62-year-old audioprosthetist who found herself in room 814 following a devastating cancer1. Her husband denounced the state of disrepair of the place. His wife was installed there due to a lack of places in palliative care homes in the region. This single room cost $171.66 per day.
The CISSS de la Montérégie-Est said last weekend that it was “very sensitive to the concerns raised regarding the state of room 814.” The establishment confirmed on Monday that work to “correct” the walls and paint them had started in the morning.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE CISSS DE LA MONTÉRÉGIE-EST
Renovation work is underway in room 814.
“This room was the last private room on the floor to be renovated as a priority,” writes the health establishment in an email. The work was planned in the maintenance plan and the room became available this weekend. » According to the CISSS de la Montérégie-Est, less than 5% of individual rooms remain to be renovated in the hospital. Room 814 was one of them.
The story also sparked a reaction from Santé Québec, which contacted the CISSS de la Montérégie-Est this weekend. The deceased’s husband will be contacted by the health establishment “as soon as possible”, he said.
Other dilapidated premises
Room 814 is far from being a unique case, according to a local union, which notably represents painters from the CISSS de la Montérégie-Est. Other rooms and units at youth centers are in poor condition, he says.
-“When employees come to report, we try as much as possible to intervene with the employer so that it can be replaced,” says Luc Michaudville, interim president of STTCISSSME-CSN. But the delays, sometimes, are enormous. »
He fears the effects of cuts linked to achieving the balanced budget required by Santé Québec by March 31. “We are short of employees, but often the positions are not filled at the moment,” he says.
Luc Michaudville does not want to face a new pandemic in these conditions. “A wall like you saw in the 814 is almost impossible to wash,” he explains. If there was a pandemic, wash the walls, when it’s on drywall like that, it’s not washable. »
A watch over the rooms
The president of the Union of Healthcare Professionals of Montérégie-Est-FIQ, Brigitte Petrie, is sorry that Louise Cloutier found herself in room 814 at the end of her life. “She was not in palliative care where there is more particular attention [portée] to all that. »
She is nevertheless delighted that “at least this room” has been renovated. “I hope there will be a lookout in the other rooms,” she adds.
The husband of the deceased, Guy Blanchet, highlighted to Paul Arcand the good care received at the Honoré-Mercier hospital. “The staff are doing a remarkable job in unacceptable conditions,” he told her.
1. Read the column “Room 814”
