Earlier this month, a test showed she had an 11-millimeter nodule in her right lung. Everything suggests that it would be cancer.

Ms Ledoux says the surgeon ranks him as a priority case but is unable to operate on him for six to eight weeks as he only performs three surgeries a week. According to Ms. Ledoux, the reason given by the surgeon is the lack of access to operating rooms and specialist staff.

She would be 16^e on the waiting list for this type of urgent surgery. She has lived in agony for weeks.

[Le chirurgien] said to me: “if nothing is done, your lifespan is currently two years”She says.

” It’s unacceptable, it can’t be, it’s unacceptable because it’s my life [est en jeu]. It blew my mind. »

Ms Ledoux lodged a formal complaint with the Complaints Officer’s Office CIUSSS to denounce the situation.

A complaint against the administration for his irresponsible failure to allow surgeons access to operating theaters and the skilled personnel needed to support themwe can read in the document of which we received a copy.

I demand that the situation change, it is unacceptable, it is unimaginable, it is absolutely necessary that they bring about a change. It’s badly managed, it doesn’t work starts Joyce Ledoux.

” It is a right that we must take care of ourselves. I say so. »

Come and help us in Fleurimont, please, she begs the Ministry of Health.

Surgeons denounce the lack of resources

Surgeon Julius Poon would like to operate Ms Ledoux faster, but access to the operating room is restricted due to staff shortages.

If you get the cancer in time, the prognosis isn’t that bad, but it goes away quickly, warns the surgeon.

” The risk of progression will certainly reduce his life expectancy. Lung cancer is the deadliest and most aggressive cancer. »

The director of the department of thoracic surgery, Marco Sirois, considers the situation to be worrying. Access to the operating room has been radically reduced by 50%, allowing us to operate on 50% fewer patients, so what had to happen happened. And there, the patients, it’s a crisis exposes the thoracic surgeon.

” I’m just a little upset because the rest of us are tasked with operating on people, but we don’t have the tools to do it. »

We mentioned this three weeks ago and there was no reply, regrets Marco Sirois.

CIUSSS in labor shortage

Acting Director of Professional Services at CIUSSS from Estrie-CHUS, Mario Viens, will not comment on Ms Ledoux’s specific case, but says he sympathizes with her this lady and I sympathize with everyone else .

Mario Viens says that the CIUSSS is working hard to prioritize these patients. He ensures that everything is done to limit delays. The prioritization of patients on the waiting list is reviewed daily.

We haven’t been at 100% utilization since the end of the pandemicadds the director.

” Tomorrow morning you give me 20 more rooms, I can’t do much with it… It needs the manpower and we don’t have that manpower at the moment »

When operations cannot be completed within an acceptable time frame, solutions can be considered. We can see if these patients might be interested in having surgery elsewhere in other regions.he introduces.

The Office of the Minister of Health is responding

The health secretary was unavailable Thursday to answer questions from Radio-Canada. The Minister’s Office will notify you by email Be very sensitive to the testimonies reported.

” It is certain that we do not like such situations. We must improve access to quality care for all Quebecers. »

The minister called for priority to be given to oncological operations and those whose patients are waiting longer than a yearwe can read in the email.

The company reminds that additional investments of $700 million were announced in the budget to speed up the recovery of operations.

A problem that is not from yesterday

runaway Telejournal EstrieCouncil President for the Protection of the Sick, Me Paul Brunet, believes there is a big problem of waiting lists to receive surgical procedures in Quebec.

We are dealing with a person with cancer. There is no reason why we cannot operate on time, which is extremely important for the future, for the patient’s survival. Unfortunately, it happened that patients died on the waiting list. But let’s remember that Madame Marois, then Secretary of Health, sent people to the United States for cancer treatment in the ’90s. […] Have we done everything possible?he asks.

” We are dealing with someone who could die if we don’t take care of the person, if we don’t give them the care they need now. I hope that we will use all possible initiatives and find solutions. We found some then, why don’t we find any more today? »

According to him, the health network’s problems extend well beyond the pandemic.

I’ve been a speaker for 25 years. Next year it will be 50 years since our organization, the Council for the Protection of the Sick, has existed. I am still fighting to ensure that people get the care they need at the right time. It’s not because we don’t spend a lot. We spend fortunes in Quebec. Why does not it work?he complains.

With information from Marie-Hélène Rousseau