The president of the province\u2019s association of cardiac surgeons is denouncing Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec after the Crown corporation managing health care appeared to downplay the severity of the crisis in heart patients who have died while on lengthy wait lists for their operation.<\/p>\n
Responding to a Gazette article<\/a> Tuesday on missing statistics on wait times for cardiac surgery, Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec issued a statement addressing the problem of premature deaths<\/a> of heart patients.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is possible for a person to die while waiting for surgery for reasons that are not necessarily related to the heart surgery itself,\u201d Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec declared in a statement on X. \u201cThe medical reality is complex and can never be attributed to a single factor.\u201d<\/p>\n Les listes d\u2019attente en chirurgie cardiaque au Qu\u00e9bec sont g\u00e9r\u00e9es avec rigueur et selon l\u2019\u00e9tat de sant\u00e9 des personnes en attente. Les cas urgents sont op\u00e9r\u00e9s sans d\u00e9lai. \u2b07\ufe0f pic.twitter.com\/3IZ6sM352m<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec (@sante_qc) March 31, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n That statement drew a sharp rebuke from Dr. Louis Perrault, head of the Association des chirurgiens cardio-vasculaires et thoraciques du Qu\u00e9bec, who accused Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec of \u201cminimizing\u201d the crisis.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s government bulls\u2013t,\u201d Perrault said of Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s comment.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is completely science fiction is that patients on the cardiac surgery wait list who die, they die from a pneumonia or a car accident. That\u2019s not true,\u201d he added. \u201cThat\u2019s the standard government line, and they\u2019ve repeated that line every time we come out with the problems in the wait lists.\u201d<\/p>\n They’re deflecting, but we know that the patients die from heart disease and we told them that in the past.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tDr. Louis Perrault Perrault noted that five patients died while waiting for their surgery at the Institut de cardiologie de Montr\u00e9al (ICM) \u2014 a figure that Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec did not dispute in its X post.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re deflecting, but we know that the patients die from heart disease and we told them that in the past,\u201d Perrault continued. \u201cThese patients, they don\u2019t die from cancer. It\u2019s heart disease. So they are minimizing.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\u2018Concerns \u2026 can\u2019t be brushed aside\u2019\t<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the health critic for the opposition Quebec Liberal Party, Monsef Derraji, criticized Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec for publicly posting on its medical dashboard statistics showing wait times for heart surgery plummeting when the reality is far different.<\/p>\n \u201cThe concerns raised in (the Gazette article) are serious and can\u2019t be brushed aside,\u201d Derraji wrote on X. \u201cQuebecers expect clear, honest reporting, especially when it comes to something as critical as heart surgery. When data appears to paint an overly optimistic picture, it undermines public trust and raises legitimate questions. Transparency and accountability should be the standard.\u201d<\/p>\n The concerns raised in this article are serious and can\u2019t be brushed aside. Quebecers expect clear, honest reporting especially when it comes to something as critical as heart surgery. When data appears to paint an overly optimistic picture, it undermines public trust and raises\u2026<\/p>\n \u2014 Monsef Derraji (@monsefderraji) March 31, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The Gazette reported that the missing data on wait times arose partly from the fact that the ICM was not transmitting its numbers to Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec. On Tuesday afternoon, those figures were released, showing that the number of heart patients waiting for their scheduled operation at the ICM decreased from 517 in July 2025 to 412 in March, representing a drop of 20.31 per cent.<\/p>\n In contrast, Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec is reporting on its website a more significant provincewide decrease of 58.49 per cent from Aug. 23 last year to Feb. 7. But cardiac surgeons and cardiologists told The Gazette they\u2019re skeptical of the overall provincial decrease, going so far as to accuse Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec of gaslighting the public.<\/p>\n Another heart surgeon, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the issue candidly, lashed out at Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec for \u201ctaking us for idiots.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\tLack of perfusionists at the root of crisis\t<\/p>\n The decrease in wait times at the ICM is being attributed to an increase in the number of perfusionists \u2014 health-care professionals who operate bypass equipment \u2014 from seven in May 2024 to 11 in March 2026. But Perrault pointed out that the ICM still needs a total of 16 perfusionists.<\/p>\n The number of perfusionists across Quebec declined to 65 from 70 last year. Ideally, the province needs 90 perfusionists to meet the needs of an aging population, suggested Perrault, who is the director of the perfusion program at Universit\u00e9 de Montr\u00e9al.<\/p>\n It has become increasingly difficult for Quebec to keep its perfusionists because they often field offers for better-paying positions in other parts of Canada and the United States, Perrault noted.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are still 1,400 patients on the wait lists, and Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec is not solving the problem with the perfusionists leaving,\u201d he said. \u201cThey also haven\u2019t invested massively to open up the operating rooms.\u201d<\/p>\n aderfel@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n x.com\/Aaron_Derfel<\/a><\/p>\n \t\tEditor\u2019s Picks\t<\/p>\n \t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAssociation des chirurgiens cardio-vasculaires et thoraciques du Qu\u00e9bec<\/p>\n