"I feel like an abused dog": An Outaouais man fears having his foot amputated due to lack of care

A sixty-year-old man from the Outaouais region who has been suffering from a foot infection for several months fears he will have to have his foot amputated due to the inability to obtain appropriate care in his region, following the resignation of the only specialist qualified to treat him.

Harold Clément suffers from Charcot syndrome, a diabetic complication leading to the progressive deterioration of foot tissues, diagnosed in 2023.

"There are bones moving in the foot, and then there are open wounds in his foot," his daughter Véronique Clément explained to Benoit Dutrizac on QUB radio and TV, broadcast simultaneously on 99.5 FM Montreal, Friday.

Mr. Clément also developed septicemia, a blood infection.

"So, there are a lot of cases that have been piling up for a while, and then unfortunately, he fell through the cracks in the system," she lamented.

Her father was under the care of a vascular surgeon who was supposed to operate on her to improve her circulation, but he left without ensuring continuity of care, she said.

"This summer, he had a bad infection, he almost died," she said. "Then it was thanks to a nurse [at the CLSC] who saw his condition and sent him to the emergency room. That's why he's still alive today."

"Losing my footing"

Harold Clément explained that despite his requests for medical assistance in Outaouais, doctors systematically sent him home without adequate support.

"I feel like a dog that is being abused," he illustrated.

Faced with this alarming situation, his daughter, who lives in Montreal, came to get her father this week to try to have him admitted to the CHUM as a last resort.

Harold Clément, however, is having difficulty seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. His poor experience with the Outaouais healthcare system has even led him to imagine the worst.

"I might have to lose my foot," he said.

His father's file will eventually be transferred to the McGill University Health Centre.

"What's sad is that these are vulnerable patients who are victims of a lack of communication from institutions... The derailment in the system puts lives at risk. It angers me deeply," said Véronique Clément.

The CISSS reacts

The CISSS de l'Outaouais recognizes that there is a shortage of vascular surgeons in the region.

"The CISSS de l'Outaouais is working closely with Santé Québec to find a joint solution with our partners in Montreal, a sustainable solution focused on patient needs," it was stated in an email obtained by the QMI Agency.

"We would like to reiterate that we take the fact that such a situation may have arisen very seriously and are doing everything possible to ensure that it does not happen again," it added.

See the full interview in the excerpt above.