Repairs to Chisasibi hospital hemodialysis unit force patients south for much of the summer

Issues with low water pressure and an "outdated' water supply in the hemodialysis unit at the Chisasibi hospital have forced the relocation of several Cree patients from northern Quebec to Montreal for much of summer. 

Displaced since mid-July, some of those affected say they are frustrated by delays and say the hemodialysis facility in Chisasibi has long been too small, inadequate and has had an issue with mould.

"I think the mould was there for a long time," said Nellie Bearskin House, who has been a dialysis patient under the Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay for the last 13 years. The Chisasibi hemodialysis unit serves all the coastal Cree communities.

"People could smell things and could detect something was not right in the unit. I feel the [Chisasibi] hospital dialysis unit is so underdeveloped all these years. They didn't concentrate on the unit."

As a result of Bearskin House's diabetes, the 67-year-old lost her sight in 2009, and has also lost both her feet and more recently, several fingers. In 2012, she also needed a triple bypass. 

'Obsolete' system

The Cree health board says a total of 21 patients needed to be relocated to Montreal because of an "obsolete" water system and that repairs to the dialysis unit will be carried out in two stages — this summer and then again in November. It's not clear how much the repairs will cost.

"We had been having problems with the water system with low pressure readings that interrupted the dialysis treatment," said Priscilla Weapenicappo, the interim director of Chisasibi Hospital for the CBHSSJB, in an email response to a request for information. 

She also said that in December of 2021, an expert in mould was brought in to do a full evaluation of the unit and while mould was found, the readings were low. 

"Where the mould reading was done [it] showed minimal readings after the exploration's holes were covered," said Weapenicappo.

"At this time, the decontamination wasn't done due to COVID restrictions and it would have been more detrimental to [patients'] health to be relocated at this time," said Weapenicappo in the email.

Calling it a "collective" decision with all the stakeholders, the board felt it was best to move ahead with a decontamination, cleaning and repairs of the water system and dialysis unit this July, despite the disruption to patients' lives.

The renovations are happening against a backdrop of a planned new regional hospital. In October of 2019, Quebec announced a $300 million investment to build a new 52-bed regional hospital in Chisasibi. 

During the first phase of work to the hemodialysis at the existing Chisasibi hospital, the unit and locker room are being disinfected, the walls redone and a new water system installed, according to the board website. An initial Aug. 22 completion date has been pushed off twice and patients are now being told they will be able to return home on Sept. 1 or 2, according to Weapenicappo. 

The second phase of work is planned for November, when a whole new water system will be installed. Patients will again be sent south for 2 to 4 weeks.

Missing family and food

Dorothy Gilpin Sr. is another dialysis patient who has been in Montreal since mid-July. Originally from Eastmain, Gilpin stays with family in Chisasibi to receive her dialysis, but is able to go home to Eastmain regularly between dialysis treatments. She hasn't been able to visit her home community since July 2 and feels isolated.

"We miss our families … it's hard being by yourself without your family," said Gilpin Sr., who also misses easy access to her culture and traditional food. 

"We miss the food, the traditional food we get," said Gilpin Sr.

She also says she's not sure she will feel comfortable in the dialysis unit at the Chisasibi hospital even with the renovations. 

"I don't know if I can trust the place, you know, because of this mould," said Gilpin Sr. 

Neither Gilpin Sr. nor Bearskin House are able to clearly remember if they flagged their suspicions about mould before this year. 

Bearskin House says she and her fellow dialysis patients often feel very excluded from the community because of the time required to do their hemodialysis, and as a result hesitate to speak up. 

"I think that's one of the reasons they don't speak up. We never have time to go to community activities. We don't have time to be with family activities. It's a very lonely life," said Bearskin House. 

I have nothing to lose. I speak up not for myself but for other people who cannot speak up. There will be no changes if people don't speak up."