Small convoys of ambulances began transfering patients from Montreal's Hôtel-Dieu hospital to new facillities at the Centre hospitalier de l’université de Montréal, known as CHUM. Patients were also moved on stretchers and wheelchairs, using ambulances and Medicar vehicles.
Le #transfertpatients de l’Hôtel-Dieu au #CHUM est complété avec succès merci à nos équipes, bénévoles et partenaires. pic.twitter.com/B7MxevmCgC
— CHUM (@chumontreal) November 5, 2017
Up to one hundred patients were expected to make the move, but spokesperson Irène Marcheterre told CJAD 800 that the official number had been revised to fifty-one on Sunday morning.
"Every patient is being checked by the doctor and every patient has a nurse with them during the transfer," said Marcheterre. "Everything is going through well. We have a bit of rain, but it didn't slow things down."
The transfer of some unstable patients may be postponed to later in the day depending on their condition. While the move isn't like an upgrade into business class, Marcheterre noted the new CHUM facility offers its patients some of the latest services and facilities.
"They have their own room and this is something very important," noted Marcheterre. "As you know, the new CHUM has very high technology as well and it's completely different."
This latest move comes less than a month after patients from St-Luc Hospital made their way to CHUM’s new superhospital. Marcheterre said CHUM employees have been training for the patient transfers for many weeks.
The emergency room at HôtelDieu was the first ER in North America, established in 1659 and officially closed its doors for good at 5:00am on Sunday November 5, 2017.
Hôtel-Dieu is the second of three hospitals being relocated to the new facility and it will remain partially open until the CHUM site is fully operational in 2021. At that time it will house offices and some of the new hospital’s outpatient programs.
Patients from Notre-Dame Hospital will be transferred on November 26th.
* With files from The Canadian Press