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Lawyers for Herron CHSLD, local health authority dispute events that led to care crisis

In all, 47 residents of the private Herron residence died in the first wave of the pandemic. (Ivanoh Demers/Radio-Canada - image credit)
In all, 47 residents of the private Herron residence died in the first wave of the pandemic. (Ivanoh Demers/Radio-Canada - image credit)

A total of 47 people died in the spring of 2020 at the Herron CHSLD, a private long-term care home in Montreal's West Island, and residents endured horrific conditions brought upon by a shortage of staff and a lack of personal protective equipment.

But precisely who is to blame for what transpired remains the subject of debate.

On Wednesday, at the provincial inquiry presided over by Coroner Géhane Kamel, lawyers representing both Herron and the local health authority, the CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, offered their versions of what led to the dire situation in April 2020.

Alexandre Paradis, the Herron lawyer, told Kamel that the residence was generally well-run before the pandemic but beset by staff shortages.

He said owners tried to get help in the weeks leading up to the crisis in the first weeks of the pandemic, in March 2020, but the CIUSSS offered little support, forcing Herron's operators to turn to private agencies for temporary workers.

In future, he said, the CIUSSS should have a "bank of personnel available and respond to calls for help."

What Paradis called "the beginning of the end" for Herron came when managers from the CIUSSS effectively took over running the residence on March 29.

He said what happened over the next 10 days was "total chaos," and he said it was never clear who from the CIUSSS was responsible for what.

He said Herron owners tried to collaborate with the CIUSSS but were shut out.

Ivanoh Demers/Radio-Canada
Ivanoh Demers/Radio-Canada

By contrast, the lawyer for the CIUSSS, Jean-François Pedneault, said Herron was inadequately managed well before the pandemic, with chronic staff and equipment shortages.

According to Pedneault, when the CIUSSS intervened, the owners failed to share key information and documents.

Wednesday's presentations are part of the final stage of the provincial inquiry into deaths in long-term care homes during the first wave.

A report released Wednesday by Quebec's health and welfare commissioner, Joanne Castonguay, said slow decision-making by public health officials, a "paternalistic" attitude toward seniors and the lack of a coherent pandemic plan contributed to the devastation in long-term care homes during the early months of the pandemic.

In all, more than 4,800 people died in Quebec long-term care homes during the first wave, between the end of February and early July 2020.