Storm knocks out power, causes chaos and sparks protest at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital
Decrepit hospital was vulnerable to the storm's power, opposition politicians say
Doctors and nurses dressed in scrubs and caps gathered outside the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital over the noon hour imploring the government to make the facility a priority after a short but severe storm debilitated operations Tuesday evening.
The storm, which struck around 8 p.m., caused a power outage in the facility and the generators failed to work properly — leaving the intensive-care unit and surgery block in the dark for more than an hour.
The evening of chaos sparked renewed criticism that the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government has taken too long to go ahead with renovations at the aging hospital, which provides care to a large number of Quebecers.
"For years, we've been keeping the hospital at arm's length from one catastrophe to another, trying not to let it show, trying to make sure the worst doesn't happen," said Dr. Chantal Rivard who's been working there for 28 years.
"Mr. Legault, are you waiting for someone to die to do something?"
The Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, also known as HMR, in eastern Montreal, has made headlines in recent months because renovation work has been postponed despite the hospital's decrepit state.
Media reports have flagged water leaks, elevator breakdowns and squirrels inside the hospital.
Dr. Marc Brosseau, a lung specialist at the hospital, said Tuesday's storm also shattered multiple windows, lightly injured at least one nurse and the power outage trapped people inside elevators. Firefighters arrived to rescue them.
The outage also delayed operations and caused some patients who were in intensive care to be transferred to the emergency room.
Ambulance garage doors could not be opened and the telephone and computer systems failed.
"We had major problems," Brosseau said, adding that backup generators didn't work.
A spokesperson for the health authority that oversees the hospital said in a statement the power outage highlighted a problem with the hospital's backup electric system.
As a result, 30 surgeries scheduled for Wednesday had to be rescheduled. One urgent surgery had to be performed at the Santa Cabrini Hospital instead, but that surgery caused three other surgeries at that hospital to be postponed.
The spokesperson also said ambulances transporting trauma cases were being diverted away from the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital.
In a written statement Wednesday afternoon, the CIUSSS de l'Est-de-l'Île-de-Montréal — the regional health authority for eastern Montreal — said the hospital began accepting ambulances again at 2 p.m. It also said its surgery block was operational "since we are confident that we will be able to supply electricity to the [block] in all circumstances."
However, the hospital can't resume its surgery schedule planned for Wednesday and is instead performing emergency surgeries and treating patients that are already hospitalized, said the statement.
Despite the building's condition, the hospital is still able to recruit staff, said Jean-François Fortin-Verreault, the health authority's CEO.
"Temporarily, this still works. We had our biggest recruitment year last year but it's sure that in the long term we need a new environment," he said.
The Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital serves 27 per cent of Montrealers, according to Rivard, adding that if that hospital breaks down it's bad news for the whole city. The hospital also provides care to people outside the region, given its expertise in treating blood cancers.
"We have good equipment, good staff, it's the walls that aren't holding. That's what's going to break down. We can't continue like this."
Political criticism
At the National Assembly on Wednesday, opposition parties accused the CAQ government of dragging its feet and mismanaging the hospital's renovations.
Parti Québécois MNA Joël Arseneau said the images coming out of the hospital demonstrate the need to go ahead with renovations.
"What kind of health system do we have?" he said. "It's not serious. It's another illustration that pushing back a project like this is completely irresponsible on behalf of the government."
Liberal Party interim leader Marc Tanguay said the government had wasted so much money elsewhere that they were no longer able to provide health services to citizens.
"HMR is falling into ruin, it's held together literally with staples and wasn't able to stand up to the storm yesterday," he said.
Health Minister Christian Dubé said nobody was in danger on Wednesday and he thanked staff who he said worked in a very difficult situation. The hospital's generators failed to kick in, he said, in part because they weren't connected properly.
But he said that the government had devoted so much money to projects that are currently underway — the new hospital in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., for example — that they lack the funds for new projects.
"We're going to find a solution in the coming weeks," he said. "Even with the very tight budgets that we have, we're working on a solution.
"I didn't need yesterday's event to be able say that we're working on Maisonneuve."
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With files from Radio-Canada, Annabelle Olivier and Cassandra Yanez-Leyton