When Claude Dufresne died of a heart attack in June 2002 after an ambulance was turned away from a Shawinigan, Que., hospital 300 metres from his home, it caused a storm throughout the province. And it isn't over yet.
This spring, Dufresne's family filed a lawsuit against the Centre hospitalier du Centre-de-la-Mauricie and the physician who was staffing the emergency department June 20, 2002. The ambulance carrying Dufresne, 51, was redirected to a hospital in Trois-Rivières, about 30 minutes away, because the local emergency department had closed at midnight. Dufresne died en route.
A statement released by the Dufresne family's lawyer, Jean-Pierre Ménard, said hospital officials had misled the public by blaming the situation on a physician shortage. The hospital “simply passed on the responsibility to the government,” the statement said. It also noted that the legal action is being launched to prevent further emergency department (ED) closures.
“We never imagined that an emergency room would refuse a cardiac arrest case,” Ménard told CMAJ. He said a physician was still present in the ED when Dufresne was stricken, and under Quebec law hospitals can refuse to offer emergency care only if they are battling an epidemic.
Neither André Trottier, the interim director general at the Shawinigan hospital, nor the physician involved will comment on the case. However, many colleagues have rallied to the doctor's defence — 35 physicians from the hospital have signed a letter of support.
The controversy brought under scrutiny the recurring challenge of staffing the province's hospitals, especially during the summer holiday period.
In the wake of Dufresne's death, the Quebec government passed Bill 114, temporary legislation designed to ensure that EDs remain open around the clock. The Shawinigan ED has been open at all times since (see CMAJ 2002;167[5]:530;167[6]:617;167[8]:908). — Brenda Branswell, Montreal