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Lachine Hospital to turn away patients arriving by ambulance

The ER will remain open 14 hours per day, and other services will remain unchanged.

An ambulance pulls up to the emergency department of the Lachine Hospital.
An ambulance pulls up to the emergency department of the Lachine Hospital. Photo by John Mahoney /Montreal Gazette files

Ambulances will no longer be accepted at the Lachine Hospital, though the emergency department will remain open 14 hours per day, the hospital authority said.

The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) issued a statement Wednesday that as of Tuesday, Feb. 14, ambulances with patients needing emergency care will be redirected to other hospitals, such as the Royal Victoria, the Neuro or the Montreal General Hospital. The Lachine Hospital’s ER will remain open to walk-in patients from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.

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The MUHC said the change is part of a planned reorganization of services that will allow resources to be better distributed throughout the hospital network. The MUHC said the change will allow staff at the Lachine Hospital to continue to manage critical patients quickly.

All other essential services will continue to function as usual at the  hospital, the statement said.

The hospital first announced it would close its overnight services in October 2021 because of staff shortages. Since then, operating hours have shifted several times, as has the hospital’s admissions of patients arriving by ambulance.

Dr. Lucie Opatrny, MUHC president and executive director, said the institution will evaluate the hospital’s mission within the network. Despite the reduction of hours and services, the Lachine Hospital is in the midst of a $200-million modernization program.

“We would like to reaffirm our commitment to our staff and our population,” Opatrny said. “We are actively pursuing our recruitment efforts, and we wish to offer both hospital staff and new recruits attractive and stimulating employment opportunities.”

  1. An ambulance parked outside the emergency department at the Lachine Hospital in Montreal on Oct. 26, 2021. The hospital's ER has been closed overnight since Nov. 7.

    Lachine Hospital ER to remain closed overnight 'until further notice'

  2. “I think we’re talking about weeks,” Dr. Pierre Gfeller, president and executive director of the MUHC, said of the partial closure of the ER. He expects things to return to normal around January.

    Lachine Hospital ER will turn away ambulances, close overnight starting Nov. 7