Quebec’s Health Minister had good news for the residents of Lachine and all users of the Lachine Hospital Thursday night.
Dr. Réjean Hébert announced that the Lachine Hospital will remain under the jurisdiction of the Montreal University Hospital Centre.
Hébert made the announcement at an evening press conference that was also attended by Liberal MNA François Ouimet, who expressed a sigh of release when he heard the news.
Hébert told reporters at a news conference that maintaining the hospital’s affiliation with the MUHC “seems to be the best solution in terms of achieving the goals of this hospital.”
That’s a far cry from what Hébert said in January when he said the MUCH would never make Lachine a priority and announced it would be managed by the CSSS de Dorval-Lachine-LaSalle.
But public outcry forced Hébert’s hand. The Save Our Lachine Hospital committee formed six years ago, returned to action, collecting thousands of names on a petition insisting the hospital remain affiliated with the MUHC.
“It was a big concern, ” said hospital employee Evelyn Van Eyken, “You would lose that connection with the larger hospitals, you would lose the expertise of the larger hospitals.”
Many worried that under the management of the CSSS, the hospital’s quality of care would deteriorate.
“That’s why the people of Lachine are so glad to be part of the MUHC, it assures them the stability that they don’t have before”, said Paul Thomas, president of the MUHC employee’s union.
There are still some outstanding issues around funding that need to be addressed according to Dr. Paul Saba. He says beds at the hospital aren’t being properly funded, forcing the Lachine Hospital into a deficit situation. Saba also notes that there is no word yet on a $66 million dollar pledge to modernize the hospital, made under a different government in November, 2008.
“We also want to have a hospital that was operationally healthy,” Saba told Global News, “which means that the minister needs to give us the money we need to run our beds.”
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