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Fri Jan 19 04:17:29 GMT 2007

Note the :
- 4 Level 1 trauma centers in the province(Pop nearly 7 million)
- 279 serious trauma Pts/yr (Not much violence, poor prehosp referral to trauma
system (Impeded referal dur to : No helicopters, no paramedics)

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/montreal/story.html?id=0b9ef059-8568-4edb-b222-9c3228d8e1a9&k=2345

 Thursday » January 18 » 2007 

Trauma team resignations worry Quebec
Charles Lemoyne downplays impact. Seven surgeons' departure is believed to be a
protest against lack of resources

AARON DERFEL 
The Gazette 

Thursday, January 18, 2007

The Quebec government is deeply worried about the resignations of seven
surgeons from the trauma team at Charles LeMoyne Hospital and the impact they
could have on patient care, an aide to Health Minister Philippe Couillard said
yesterday.

Although the surgeons will continue working in the Longueuil hospital, they
will no longer coordinate trauma care.

Their resignations are a protest against what they believe to be a lack of
resources.

Charles LeMoyne is one of four hospitals in Quebec that specialize in saving
the lives of victims of car crashes, shootings and other traumas.

The province is following the situation at Charles LeMoyne closely, said
Isabelle Merizzi, Couillard's press attache.

"For us, in the last few months (Charles LeMoyne) no longer responds to the
norms of a tertiary trauma centre," Merizzi said, explaining the hospital is
not able to carry out neurosurgery.

The resignations "leave a hole" and "we have some worries," she added.

"Neurosurgery and trauma care are inextricably linked. We have asked the
hospital to sit down with the director of professional services and the doctors
to try to resolve the situation."

The province has boosted health funding to the Monteregie region by 25 per
cent, Merizzi noted. Therefore, if there is a lack of resources for trauma
care, the government is not to blame, she suggested.

The trauma surgeons were unavailable for comment yesterday. They are to hold a
news conference today at a Longueuil hotel.

Louis Couture, director of professional services at Charles LeMoyne, played
down the impact of the resignations.

"Trauma patients will continue to be taken care of at Charles LeMoyne
Hospital," he said.

"The quality of care will be just as good and just as safe. We have
emergency-room doctors who will take over and ensure the coordination of trauma
care.

"The hospital is under exceptional pressure," he added. "The doctors work very
hard here. We have to look at all our resources, not just trauma care."

Luc Boileau, executive director of the Monteregie Health and Social Services
Agency, which oversees the hospital, criticized the doctors for resigning while
all sides were examining the issue of resources.

"Certainly, there is a communication problem between the surgeons and the
administrative team," Boileau said, adding that "patient care has not been
compromised so far."

Charles LeMoyne handles an average of 1,200 trauma cases a year, of which 250
are considered very severe.

This is not the first time questions have been raised about the quality of
trauma care at the South Shore hospital. In 2000, a government report found the
trauma centre lacked "appropriate medical and surgical teams" - resulting in a
statistically high number of deaths among severely injured patients.

John Sampalis, an epidemiologist who wrote the report, said at the time: "My
first instinct would be to recommend that (trauma patients) cross the bridge
and come over to the Montreal General Hospital.

"Charles LeMoyne is significantly worse than the three other trauma centres,"
he added.

Seven years later, the hospital still does not have a designated trauma
operating bay.

aderfel at thegazette.canwest.com

© The Gazette (Montreal) 2007

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