Coroner to investigate Quebec man's death after 2-hour ambulance wait

The Quebeccoroner's office says it will now investigate after aman in Senneterre, a town in Quebec's Abitibi-Tmiscamingue region,died following atwo-hourwait for an ambulance this week.His local emergency room's service had beenscaled back due to staffing shortages.

The town, located about535kilometres northwest of Montreal, announced the deathWednesday. Later, the family of 65-year-old Richard Genest confirmed that he was the patient who had died.

Marianne Genest, speaking to CBC News, said her father called for an ambulance around 2:40 a.m. Tuesday, after the town's emergency room had closed.Senneterre's ERhas been operating only eight hours a day since mid-October due to lack of staff.

But according to a statement from the town, theonly ambulance was already en route to Val d'Or, nearly 70 kilometres away, with another patient. Genest waited two hours for another ambulance, which hadto come from the neighbouring town of Barraute, according to the statement.

Genest was then taken to the hospital in Val d'Or, where he was assessed by medical professionals, his daughter said, noting it was decided that he should betransferred to the town of Amos, an hour away, where there was an emergency vascular surgeon on staff.

According to his daughter, Genest died in the elevatoron his way to the operating table, around 10 a.m. Tuesday over seven hours after he first called for an ambulance.

Mayor asked province to intervene

Senneterre mayor Nathalie-Anne Pelchat said the situation could have been avoidedif the town was able to have a 24-hour emergency room.

She said she reached out to the regional health authority before Genest's death, asking itto reopen the emergency room at full capacity as soon as possible. She said she also wrote to Quebec's health minister,Christian Dub, in late Septemberand asked him to intervene after the health authority announced the ER would reduce its hours.

"We take it very personally. The whole community of Senneterre is really in shock," Pelchat told Radio-Canada."We knew it was going to happen, we said it over and over again, no one believed us."

"We knew it was going to happen and, unfortunately, it happened."

Olivier Allaire, co-founder of community groupUrgence d'Agir, who is advocating for the local ER to return to its previous hours, says heworries people will postpone getting treatmentknowing that emergency services aren't being offered 24-hours a day.

"If [health authorities] would just listen to us and not think thattheyhave all the answers in the world and that we are from a small community, and we know nothing," he said. "Because that's how we feel we are treated."

'You can't just leave us like this'

milise Lessard-Therrien, a Qubec Solidaire MNA who represents the region ofAbitibi-Tmiscamingueat the National Assembly, said she felt her region had been "abandoned" by the provincial government.

"We have a lot of questions about what happened. If the ambulance, if the paramedics were there if the paramedics wentdirectly to Amos, to the [right] specialist, maybe Richard Genest would be still alive."

Marianne Genestsaid that it was definitely a problem, not only in Senneterre, but in small towns across the province.

"Every city should have a 24-hour emergency, or something, because we're human beings," she said. "You can't just leave us like this."

TheCentre intgr de sant et de services sociaux de l'Abitibi-Tmiscamingue(CISSS-AT), which oversees health services in the region, said in a statement late Wednesdaythat it investigated the incident and found all protocols were followed.

It also said the closure of the emergency clinic was "not a factor that contributed to the death" and that the coroner's office had beencontacted about the case and decided therewasn't enough "to justify an investigation."

Speaking to reporters Thursday morning, Premier Franois Legaultsaid he spoke with the head of the health authority, and echoed itsconclusion that the ER closure did not contribute to Genest'sdeath.

Coroner toinvestigate

The three opposition parties at the National Assembly called on the Quebeccoroner's office Thursday to look into the incident.

The coroner confirmed Thursday afternoon in a statement that it had opened an investigation.

During an online news conference, regional health authorities doubled down on the idea that the ER's overnight closure played norole in Genest's death.

WATCH | Coroner to examine Quebec man's death:

Quebecs coroner to investigate death of a man who waited hours for help

3 years ago

Duration 2:02

A coroner will investigate the death of Richard Genest, a Quebec man who waited hours for treatment in a small rural community. His family is convinced the delay in medical help contributed to his death.

Dr. Franois Aumond, director of professional services of the CISSS-AT, said Genest's condition required a radiology exama service that is unavailable inSenneterre meaning he would have needed to be sent toa hospital in Val d'Or.

"As soon as [the patient] arrived in Val d'Or, which was the closest hospital and perfectlyappropriatefor his health condition, the medical evaluation was conducted quickly confirming a pathology that required emergency surgery," he said.

"The transfer was done, without delay, to the Amos hospital, where he was pronounced dead. At that point, any surgery would have been futile."

Marianne Genest said she'd remember her father as the well-loved "village clown,"who was always there for his children, made people laugh, andput others' needs before his own.

A remembrance march forGenest has been organized in Senneterrefor Friday night.