EXCLUSIVE: Montreal mother furious after daughter waits 3 hours in ER, struggling to breathe

A Montreal mother claims her daughter’s life was endangered last Friday at the Montreal Children’s Hospital.

The girl was having trouble breathing when she got to the emergency room, and mother Lianne Watt says proper procedure wasn’t followed.

“In speaking with the doctor, she mentioned that we were clearly triaged wrong. Because it’s a breathing issue, we should have been taken right away,” Watt told Global News.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "In speaking with the doctor, she mentioned that we were clearly triaged wrong. Because it's a breathing issue, we should have been taken right away," Watt told Global News.

She claims 17 month-old Olivia was forced to wait three hours before getting her vital signs taken and seeing a doctor.

By the time she was seen, Watt says Olivia’s oxygen saturation levels were dangerously low.

“She ended up having low saturation of 86 and immediately all the doctors came in, took her right away, put her in a room and ended up doing four ventolin treatments — plus they gave her a steroid,” Watt said.

The Montreal Children’s Hospital told Global News it won’t comment on Olivia’s case, but in a written statement, suggested she file an official complaint.

“We strongly encourage her to communicate with Stephanie Urbain, the ombudsperson at the Montreal Children’s Hospital,” public relations officer Sandra Sciangula wrote.

“This is a necessary step to launch an official investigation into a patient’s experience so that we can get an accurate understanding of what happened. If something did indeed go wrong along the way, we want to ensure it is rectified so that it is not experience by another patient.”

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Watt told Global News she already contacted the ombudsperson, only to be told it could take up to two months before they get back to her.

Despite the delay, she said she’s determined to follow through with the complaint process.

“Changes need to be made, I understand nurses — they’re swamped and there’s a shortage, but my child’s life should not be put at risk due to that issue,” she said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Changes need to be made, I understand nurses — they're swamped and there's a shortage, but my child's life should not be put at risk due to that issue," she said.

Olivia’s uncle said he is also outraged, especially considering she was born prematurely and has had breathing issues in the past.

“It’s pretty scary that something like this can happen,” Ryan Watt said.

“You expect when you go to the hospital, you’re going to get taken care of, but poor thing, she suffered and she didn’t need to.”