It was nearly a year ago, in the middle of winter, that just hours after giving birth, Annie Calamia was wheeled into a private postpartum room at the Maissoneuve-Rosemont hospital — one that she agreed to pay $176 for.
She says she was expecting a calm, comfortable recovery, but instead felt like she stepped into a danger zone.
“We got into the room and I said, ‘It’s freezing in here, I think the window’s open,’” said Calamia. “So my boyfriend went to the window, closed it and every time the wind blew, it blew the window open. So we said, ‘OK, I think it’s broken.’”
Calamia says she immediately raised concerns, flagging the issue to nurses and even a doctor.
She says she asked to be moved — even if it meant sharing a room — but was told the maternity ward was full.
“You don’t want to be in a room where you don’t feel safe. And that’s exactly what happened to us,” she said. “And I thought it was very shocking and it was a public health issue that they couldn’t provide that to women and to babies who are just born.”
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After she was discharged, Calamia says she immediately began to take steps to contest the bill, before even receiving it.
She was told that since she chose a private room and occupied it, she had to pay for it, she says. She contested the decision and even contacted the Quebec Ombudsman, without any success.
“They told me that I could contact a lawyer and do some legal procedures, which is very expensive and I realized that I had no other option than to contact the media and just getting the word,” she said.
In a statement to Global News, a spokesperson for the CIUSSS de l’Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal apologized for the situation, adding that the window has since been fixed.
“Although the review of the complaint did not find any non-compliance in the billing, we remain sensitive to the situation that the patient says she experienced. We will ensure that the user does not have to pay the $176 fee out of pocket,” it added.
After years of mounting pressure and criticism, last fall the 10-year renovation project finally began at the Maissoneuve-Rosemont hospital.
The hospital had made headlines for years over its run-down facilities and aging infrastructure.
Patrick Martin-Ménard, a medical malpractice lawyer, says he unfortunately hears about situations like this far too often.
He adds that staying silent only allows them to continue.
“There seems to be a certain mindset in the health-care system, thinking that these things aren’t really important — that the patient’s comfort and satisfaction isn’t important,” he said. “What is important is delivering the service, at the bare minimum. And that mindset permeates a lot of the health care given in Quebec.
“And that’s a problem. That’s a mindset that has to change.”
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