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Marcel Roy, 82-Year-Old Man, Dies In Hospital Supply Room

82-Year-Old Man Dies In Hospital Supply Room
A Quebec town coroner won't be investigating after an elderly man died while in a hospital supply room.
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A Quebec town coroner won't be investigating after an elderly man died while in a hospital supply room.

A Quebec town coroner won't be investigating after an elderly man died while in a hospital supply room.

In an interview with La Presse, coroner Yvon Garneau said there would be no inquest into the death of Marcel Roy because he didn't believe the hospital's actions led to his death.

The 82-year old died Aug. 25 at the Holy Cross Hospital in Drummondville after being moved from a normal hospital room to a bed in a supply room that contained bandages and sterilized bottles, according to the National Post.

"It was like a warehouse," Roy's daughter Marcelle told Drummondville's L'Express.

After being moved to the supply room, Roy's condition worsened — his heart even stopped beating at times — but the hospital staff said they had no beds available, La Presse reported. A room was eventually prepared, but Roy died before he could be moved.

A representative from the local Health and Social Services Centre confirmed that Roy had been moved to the supply room, but only because it was preferable to a hallway or the emergency room.

The Quebec Association of Rights of Retirees and Pre-Retirees, an organization that works for seniors' rights in Quebec, called for a coroners' inquest into the death. Coroner Garneau responded by saying it wasn't a case that needed investigation.

A Montreal-based advocacy group also took issue with the hospital's handling of the situation.

“It’s very sad that nobody at any level of authority took the initiative not to put that patient there,” Paul Brunet, chair of the Council for the Protection of Patients, told the National Post.

“There’s no reason, economically, that we cannot treat, serve, and feed people adequately in Quebec."

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