A facelift for the Montreal General Hospital's trauma rooms

The three new trauma rooms at the Montreal General Hospital (MGH) represent an incredible boost for the medical teams, who now work in a state-of-the-art environment.

Dr. Tarek Razek, Director of Trauma at the MGH, is delighted with the new facilities. “It's great for morale, he says. Patients come here with serious injuries or life-threatening conditions and there is often a lot of stress. We will be able to take care of them with even better equipment."

For his part, Dr. Jean-Marc Troquet says the project got underway quickly, taking into account the needs of the medical teams: "The hospital was able to react very quickly to the current health crisis. Thanks to the financial participation of the Montreal General Hospital Foundation (MGHF) and the MSSS, the project was able to move forward and be completed in nine months."

Infection control at the heart of the renovations

The pandemic was certainly a game changer when it came to the redesign of the three new trauma rooms. Each room has negative pressure and its own workstation with 3 monitors installed outside the room, which allows staff members to monitor the patient's condition without entering the room. ( audio, video and vital signs)

Jacques Avital, project manager, explains: "The aim of the new standards was to limit the number of people coming and going into the rooms, to minimize the risk of infection. Also, the rooms are separated from each other. There are no more curtains, yet another way to increase infection control. We chose to install a sliding door with optional opaque glass, to be used in case of a delicate procedure."

In addition, the medical team will be able to use telemedicine if needed. The staff will always be able to have the support of a colleague, even if he or she is not on site, through his or her phone, tablet or computer, and will be able to see and hear from a distance.

Carole Filteau has been the MGH’s Emergency Room nurse manager since 2010 will be retiring soon. She will end her wonderful career with a view of what is colloquially known as "Trauma Bay. “I have waited a long time for the renovations of the Emergency department to happen.The Emergency staff have undergone many changes to their work flow as a result of the pandemic and the construction and to finally have the Resus/Trauma rooms back in the core is phenomenal. Everyone is extremely happy.”