Healthcare professionals and patients at Lachine Hospital are launching a legal challenge against the closure of the gynecology clinic scheduled for Monday, April 1.
The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) announced two weeks ago that the clinic at Lachine Hospital would close and that patients would have to find a gynecologist at a LaSalle hospital.
READ MORE: Physicians consider legal action to save gynecology clinic at Lachine Hospital
The Montreal Gazette reported that three doctors and two patients filed the injunction on Wednesday. Their application for an injunction is expected to be heard on Friday in Quebec Superior Court.
The complainants argue that the closure of the clinic poses a threat to the health of women in Montreal’s Lachine borough and the city of Dorval.
Dr. Paul Saba, the president of the Lachine Hospital’s council of physicians, said he is convinced that the LaSalle Hospital does not have enough resources to accommodate the transferred patients.
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At the Lachine Hospital, about 700 consultations are performed by gynecologists every year.
The MUHC explained the Lachine Hospital is expected to offer more care for men starting Monday, while healthcare for women will be provided by the LaSalle Hospital. The decision was made in 2014.
Saba argues that the decision from five years ago included a consolidation of men’s care in Lachine, but not the closure of the clinic. He said he thinks the upcoming closure of the clinic motivated by financial reasons.
WATCH: Gynecology clinic set to close on April 1
On Wednesday, MUHC management said plans to shutter the clinic have not changed in spite of the injunction.
In June 2018, the Quebec government allocated $95 million to Lachine Hospital for the construction of a new building. It will house several medical units — including emergency, intensive care, day medicine, hospitalization, medicine and surgery units, as well as palliative care.
Work is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2020 and the the building is expected to open in spring 2023.
— With files from Global’s Kalina Laframboise