13 times in the emergency room in two months

A 76-year-old patient was admitted 13 times to the emergency room at Pierre-Boucher Hospital in Longueuil, Montreal’s South Shore, over a two-month period.

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Despite the patient’s many visits, each time she has to start the long waiting process again.

Lise Sanssouci’s daughter, Marie-Josie Sanssouci, believes her mother deserves more appropriate health services.

“She had to come in to register again yesterday, as if she hadn’t seen anyone in the emergency room. I believe they have been observing her a lot since May 8, so I thought her stay in the hospital for a few days would help her (…) I denied it! Currently she is suffering from pain. Every time, a new doctor sees her,” asserts Marie-Josie.

Mrs. Sanssouci’s health had been deteriorating for some time, especially in her lungs.

Paul Brunet, president and director general of the Council for the Protection of the Sick, offers some possible solutions to give patients a break from daily trips to the emergency room.

“Why can’t we, as we have been proposing for so long, treat elderly people with mobility loss at home? When we do that, there will never be a crisis in the emergency room. The person is cared for in comfort and safety at home. It doesn’t clutter up emergency rooms and hospital beds. I don’t understand why it didn’t start like that,” he said.

Officials at the Pierre-Boucher hospital are discussing the possibility of hiring a home care team to care for Lise Sanssouci.

“When there are people who come frequently to the emergency room, we take care of them. A team takes care to carefully analyze their needs to prevent these people from returning,” explains Catherine Bourgault-Poulin, Director of Communications at CISSS de la Monterregue-Est.

The lady reminded us not to go to the hospital’s emergency room this Thursday as the occupancy rate was 160%.