Update - Wiichihiituwin Patients Accommodation in Montreal
On Wednesday, dialysis patients were transferred to Hôtel Dieu hospital, part of the CHUM. They are being cared for on site by Cree Board of Health medical staff.
Video: Special message for hemodialysis clients from doctors
Description
Special message from Dr. Laura Horowitz and Dr. Myriam Aubin about the impact of bad air quality due to wildfires on the safety of clients.
Transcription
Hi everyone. It's Dr. Laura your Kidney Doctor. So first I just wanna say thank you so much for being patient with us. I know that lately it has been very difficult. Now as everybody knows, especially for dialysis. Dialysis is a complicated disease and it has a lot of risks, especially if dialysis is missed, and this is why patients have been brought to Montreal because of all the fires, to make sure that our treatments and your treatments are not being missed.
Thankfully with our team from McGill with the amazing team from the Cree Health Board, and especially a lot of your nurses have come down to assure that you guys are safe, that your, that your treatments are being received and that nobody is being missed. I'm really sorry for the inconvenience that this is causing.
We are going to keep everybody up to date as we get updates, we will let everybody know. We are having daily meetings to try to get you guys home as quickly and safely as possible. The updates that we have right now tell us that it is still not safe to go back. There is a lot of smoke and when there's a lot of smoke in the areas, as you know, traveling to and from a treatment would be difficult on the lungs.
And some dialysis patients already have trouble breathing and we don't want further impact of that. And God forbid we send patients back home and they have to be evacuated again. We are worried that patients can start missing treatments and we know that that can lead to further complications. Please be patient with us.
We are trying to get you guys back home safely. We will, but at least for the next few days, we are being told from the fire departments and from all the committees that it is safest to stay in Montreal and we are here to support you in any way that we can. We'll, like I said, once again, we will give you updates as we know them.
Thank you so much.
Hi, it's Dr. Miriam. So for my Mistissini hemodialysis patients, this is what I look like without my mask. If you remember. I want you to know that I understand your distress.. I understand that it's such a stressful situation. You wanna be close to your family and your loved ones, and therefore I wanna thank you.
Because of your collaboration, we were able to evacuate you to Montreal to safety without any of you missing your treatment, and that's what we were afraid of. In Mistissini, the fires are still a risk. And the air quality has been very bad in the past few days, and we're waiting for the authorities to decide when it's gonna be safe for you for sure to come back and we will welcome you home.
Until then, please hang on.
The Cree Health Board and Wiichihiituwin would like to share the following update about temporary accommodation in Montreal for patients and escorts.
- This week many clients were moved from the Espresso Hotel to other lodgings in the Montreal area due to a lack of accommodation in the city and the continued arrival of clients with urgent medical emergencies.
- Wildfires in Eeyou Istchee have created conditions that the CBHSSJB has assessed as unsafe for the immediate return of vulnerable clients, especially those on dialysis.
- On Wednesday, dialysis patients were transferred to Hôtel Dieu hospital, part of the CHUM. They are being cared for on site by Cree Board of Health medical staff.
- Hotel-Dieu is an emergency shelter for Montreal (Region 6).
- Other patients who travelled to Montreal for medical appointments have been relocated to different hotels in the greater Montreal area, including Terrebonne. Wherever patients are staying, food and transportation are provided.
The CBHSSJB would like to acknowledge the inconvenience and anxiety these arrangements have caused. This is a temporary situation.
- Patient safety and the quality of care are our priorities. Dialysis patients are vulnerable to the smoky conditions caused by wildfires that are still burning near several inland communities. For the time being, these clients are safer in Montreal than in their communities, where heavy smoke persists.
- We are constantly monitoring the smoke situation in the region with SOPFEU’s expertise.
- Once we know that it is safe for dialysis patients to return to Eeyou Istchee we will plan to bring them home.
- Wiichihituwin will reassess each patient’s situation on Friday, June 16 to determine whether some of them can travel back to their communities.
Thank you for your understanding.
Wiichihituwin will reassess each patient’s situation on Friday, June 16 to determine whether some of them can travel back to their communities.
Information for clients
Louis-Vincent
Parent
- listens to concerns and helps the clients to find answers to their questions
- alerts management to areas that could be improved
- if necessary, connects the client with the office of the Commissioner of Quality of Services and Complaints
If you are thinking about filing a complaint, contact the Commissioner to discuss the situation. The Commissioner will guide you in how to make a formal complaint in writing.
