Some veterans at the Ste Anne's Hospital have won a short reprieve after being advised by the local health agency that they would be moved into different wards of the hospital starting this week, CJAD 800 News has learned.
In a story CJAD 800 News brought to you last week, families of the veterans on the 9th floor of the hospital were told in a letter late last month there's a need to move the remaining veterans from the 9th floor because of the many vacant beds on that floor and bed closures in the rest of the hospital as more and more civilian patients are being admitted.
Families expressed concern because the veterans won't be moved as a group and they won't be accompanied by their medical caregivers.
Now families are being told that the move won't happen until next month to allow for some adjustment. Some veterans were moved this week because the families wanted to get it over with.
Carol Morrison, whose father is staying at the hospital, told CJAD 800 News that they expressed their concern with the ombudsman of Veterans Affairs who relayed those concerns to the local healthcare agency.
In a statement last week, the health agency in charge of the hospital said they understand it's not easy for veterans to be transferred but that they are taking the necessary time to do the move right.
It said that since 2009, 33 beds had to be closed because of the declining number of veterans. As of November 24, there were 53 vacant beds in the hospital. The agency said it was necessary to convert the veterans' ward to accomodate the growing number of civilian patients. It added that to keep the remaining 27 ninth floor veterans together, they would have had to displace even more veterans.
The agency said that the medical staff will remain in place for the necessary period during the transfer which is exactly the same as it was before the Quebec government took control of the hospital.
Morrison said they are still seeking guarantees about the status of the medical staff.