Sabrina, a 23-year-old woman suffering from severe eating disorders, was recently admitted to the psychiatric ward of the Hôtel-Dieu de Sherbrooke because she was suffering from severe malnutrition and, according to her doctors, needed to be hospitalized.
The young woman thought she would be admitted to a room immediately, but instead she waited six long days in the psychiatric emergency room. A situation that his mother, Mélanie Rodrigue, regrets.
“For six days they sleep on stretchers or makeshift beds. There is a shower and a bathroom for all these people,” she said.
A story reminiscent of Amélie Champagne
In September 2022, Amélie Champagne took her own life after a stay in the psychiatric emergency room at the Hôtel-Dieu in Sherbrooke. Amélie refused to spend several days on a stretcher. A fear that Sabrina's mother also shares.
“I'm always scared when I don't hear from her when she's in her apartment. Sabrina sometimes tells me: “Mom, I don't want to die, I just want to sleep, I'm just tired, I want to give up.” She lives in darkness, I find that sad,” Ms. Rodrigue added.
1 bed for 12 waiting users
A total of 122 beds are available in the various psychiatric departments of the Hôtel-Dieu. The mental health emergency room serves as a waiting room.
According to Annie Masson, deputy director of mental health and addictions at the CIUSSS de l'Estrie-CHUS, the user remains in mental health emergency as long as a hospital bed is not available. For about one bed, about 5 to 12 users are waiting for hospitalization.
“So we select the best possible patient for that bed, depending on the need for care and depending on the department, because we don't mix the clientele,” she explained.