Montreal's Htel-Dieu hospital ER should stay open, coalition says

A coalition that's hoping to prevent the closing of the Htel-Dieu hospital in Montreal's PlateauMont-Royal boroughsays emergency wait times will only get worse if the facility closes its doors.

Amir Khadir, theQubec Solidaire MNA for Mercierand coalition member,pointed to a recent report on emergency wait times in Quebecthatrevealed them to be among the longest in the Western world.

"The moment it becomes clear we'rehaving difficulty treating emergency patients, the minister of health wants to convince us to close one of ourmost important emergency rooms," Khadir said.

• Htel-Dieuhospital site in limbo as CHUM nears completion

Htel-Dieu is to relocate to the new CHUM superhospital in downtown Montreal.

However, the new hospital will have 41 fewer emergency spaces.

Htel-Dieu, meanwhile, is now considered surplus.

"It's surplus only in the minds of administrators who only think in terms of spreadsheets," Khadir said.

Despite the plea, Quebec Health Minister Gatan Barrette is standing by the government's decision to close the hospital.

"One thing won't happen: it won't be a hospital," Barrette said, though he left the door open to the old hospital serving as one of the province's newsuper-clinics.

Social housing

The coalition is also making the case for buildingsocial housing on the Htel-Dieu property.

"Everyone knows that there's a growing need for social housing on the Plateau," he said, referring to the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough where the Htel-Dieu is located.

"The Htel-Dieu is an ideal location for social housing, for housing cooperatives," said housing advocateRichard Dubois.