A Montrealer with Alzheimer’s went missing all night from Sunday to Monday after Notre-Dame Hospital let him out without considering his state of health, yet recorded in his medical file.
Claude Berard
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Claude Bérard, 85, was finally found Monday morning in the entrance hall of a building in the Plateau-Mont-Royal, completely disoriented while in a place he did not know.
“He only had a blouse, Bermuda shorts and sandals with no stockings,” says his daughter, Sylvie Bérard, still in shock.
In the process, the Integrated University Health and Social Services Center (CIUSSS) of the Center-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal opened an investigation to determine where there may have been a breach, the hospital staff not having become aware of the health problem in the patient’s file until after his disappearance.
“Probably that if we had known that it was a person with Alzheimer’s, we would have acted differently,” recognizes Pierre-Paul Milette, deputy director general of the general and specialized physical health program at the CIUSSS.
No doubts from the staff
One thing is certain, the octogenarian’s visit to the hospital did not go according to the protocol established for people suffering from dementia.
Taken Sunday morning to the emergency room of Notre-Dame Hospital for a leg problem that has nothing to do with Alzheimer’s, Mr. Bérard was discharged around 3 p.m., at which time his spouse was warned that ‘he would come back by taxi.
“There were no doubts about his ability to get to his home. He was able to give his address to the nurse, ”says Milette.
The manager relates that, on the video captured by the surveillance camera, we can clearly see Claude Bérard waiting for his transport with a security guard and then heading alone to the vehicle.
Then, we see him talking to the driver for a few minutes before finally coming out and leaving on foot.
“Usually, for people with cognitive problems, we accompany the patient to the taxi door and give the address directly to the driver,” laments Pierre-Paul Milette.
“It is unfortunately negligent on the part of the medical authorities, deplores Mr.e Paul G. Brunet of the Council for the Protection of the Sick. The least we can say is that we don’t let someone like that go without better supervision. ”
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