Photo : Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal
Par Marie.eve.cantin – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
André Fortin called on Minister Mc Cann to show compassion
The Liberal Critic for Health, Mr. André Fortin, is concerned about news made public today during a broadcast on 98.5 FM which indicated that the Health Minister, Danielle Mc Cann, had announced the closure the Organ Retrieval Centre at Sacré-Cœur Hospital in Montreal. Mr. Fortin maintained that she must backtrack on this senseless decision that is fraught with consequences.
The Minister made her decision known on Friday, just hours before the Thanksgiving long weekend. Ms. Mc Cann did not issue a press release to explain her decision, which was surprising, to say the least.
The centre was established in 2013 with the goal of saving more lives by encouraging access to intensive care beds and operating rooms, as well as by ensuring the permanent presence of a team dedicated to organ retrieval. Close to 1,000 retrievals have been carried out since it opened.
Closing the Organ Retrieval Centre at Montreal’s Sacré-Cœur is nonsensical. It is known for being a trauma centre and is therefore a very appropriate location to house such a centre. The CAQ government’s decision to close this point of service simply defies reason. We cannot say it enough, organ donation saves lives. Today, in an effort to save a few thousand dollars, the Minister of Health is effectively turning her back on all of the patients who are waiting in hope for a transplant. I ask that she show compassion and reverse this decision.
– André Fortin, MNA representing Pontiac and Liberal Critic for Health and Public Health
Recall that organ donation still represents a significant challenge here in Quebec. Over the past year, some 450 patients received transplants in Quebec.
