Woman in labour should have been taken to hospital via ambulance, health minister says

Quebec Health Minister Danielle McCannsays women in labour should be transported between hospitals by ambulance to ensure the safety of both mother and child.

Her comment comes after officials at thehospital in La Malbaie told 25-year-old Anglique Lauzier the facility was too short-staffed to deliver her baby on Thursday.

Lauzierhad to find her own way to a hospital in Quebec City, two hours away. She gave birth en route while her partner drove.

Though both mom and baby are OK, McCann said in a statement Sunday that she is "very concerned" about the situation.

The situation could have been avoided if an ambulance had been used to transport Lauzier instead, McCann said.The health minister said she has asked the CEO ofCIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale to pass on that message to medical staff.

The obstetrics department at La Malbaie hospital will be closed until Tuesday at midnight because it is short 40 nurses. Efforts are being made to address that situation, McCann said.

The minister stopped short of blaming hospital staff directly, and acknowledgedthey are working "extremely hard" to deliver the service citizens deserve.

Patients' council denounces hospital's decision

The Quebec Council for the Protection of Patients has denounced thehospital's decision to turn a woman in labour away.

"If it had been a tragedy, what would the authorities have done? What would they have answered?" PaulBrunet, who chairs the council, said in an interview with Radio-Canada Sunday.

"We are not in the far north of Quebec. It is a very populatedarea.How come you do not get obstetric care?"

Local health authority defends decision

Officials at the CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale insistthere was no evidence to suggest birth was imminentand medical staff followed procedure.

Still, lessons can be gleaned from the experience, said nursing director Sylvie Bonneau.

"We will look at this situation very seriously and if it is necessary to put additional safety measures in place, we will not hesitate to do so," she said Sunday.