Death of Richard Genest: the closing of the CLSC at night is not in question, according to the coroner

Richard Genest died after suffering a malaise on the night of November 30 to December 1.

According to the report of coroner's investigation, the partial closure of the CLSC de Senneterre was not the main cause of the death of Richard Genest, a man from Senneterre who died on November 30.

According to coroner Geneviève Thériault, the most important factor in the circumstances of Mr. Genest's death is the fact that he waited 19 hours between the onset of his pain and seeking medical help.

From October 2021 to March 2022, the CLSC de Senneterre was closed 12 hours a day due to a contingency plan to manage the labor shortage ;work.

Richard Genest called 911 on the night of November 29 to 30, then he was transported to the hospital in Val-d'Or, and then transferred to Amos Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The coroner doubts that if the CLSC de Senneterre had been open at night, and Mr. Genest had gone there, that would have saved him.

“I conclude that the partial closure of the CLSC de Senneterre, the emergency call services, the ambulance services, the pre-hospital protocols and the transport corridors are not at stake in this death. Rather, it was the fact that Mr. Genest waited so long before seeking help that was fatal to him given the medical condition involved, of which he was unfortunately unaware. »

— Me Geneviève Thériault, coroner

The coroner also doubts that, if the CLSC de Senneterre had been open at night, this would have increased Mr. Genest.

The coroner writes that it cannot be certain that a clinical examination at the CLSC de Senneterre would have allowed the doctor to suspect an abdominal aortic aneurysm and there was no equipment on site to make a firm diagnosis.

The CLSC de Senneterre has a simple X-ray machine, but this type of machine is less effective in detecting aneurysms and assessing their size .

Senneterre Health Center

Abdominal ultrasound, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are more useful, the report says.

In addition, Me Geneviève Thériault recalls that Mr. Genest had several risk factors for an abdominal aortic aneurysm, including smoking, high blood pressure, his age and his male sex.

On the morning of November 29, 2021, Richard Genest reportedly began experiencing pain in his lower abdomen and abdomen, which intensified throughout the day and evening .

Some of his relatives recommended that he go to the CLSC, but Mr. Genest replied that the pain would pass.

In the evening, the pain increased significantly . It is explained that he wanted to wait for the reopening of the CLSC de Senneterre, the next morning at 8 a.m., rather than calling an ambulance.

However, around 2 30 a.m., he calls 911.

A delay of more than an hour elapsed between the call and the arrival of the ambulance, in particular because during the first call, his condition was not considered the highest priority.

However, half an hour later, his condition deteriorates. The ambulance in Senneterre was not available and the one in Barraute was called.

The distance between Senneterre and the hospital in Val-d' Gold is approximately 67 kilometers of transport by car.

The paramedics transported Mr. Genest to the Val-d'Or hospital, where he arrived at 4:50 a.m. It was during a bedside ultrasound that an aneurysm of the abdominal aorta.

The coroner believes that if Mr. Genest had arrived at the Val-d'Or hospital an hour earlier, his chances of survival would have been better, but too many factors are at play to conclude that he would have survived.

The coroner comes to the same conclusion on whether being transported directly to Amos rather than Val-d'Or would have saved Richard Genest. Other elements must be taken into account, such as the time of diagnosis and the availability of the vascular surgeon without delay.

He would have arrived there just before his cardiac arrest [… ] Mr. Genest would possibly have had a better chance of survival, but there are far too many factors at play to conclude that Mr. Genest could have been saved, one can read.

Mr. Genest died at Amos Hospital, after a second cardiopulmonary arrest.