CHUM Hospital: Notre-Dame Hospital

I will never understand people who criticize this place.nnI've been here on several occasions and everyone, and I really mean everyone, was friendly, courteous, extremely professional, competent, and empathetic.nnMost people who come here probably benefit from free healthcare. Getting this level of service for free, you should feel more than grateful.nnA huge thank you to the doctors, nurses, orderlies, and everyone who makes this place so great, especially in our worst times.

I am an anglophone international student, and I had emergency surgery at Notre-Dame Hospital last December. I was rushed there by ambulance because of the urgency, and it turned out to be the most traumatic experience of my life—not just because of the surgery itself, but because of how I was treated. Ever since, this experience affects my daily life, especially since I still need follow-up care and have no access to pathology reports or proof of my treatment. I was discharged the same night, at 2 AM, and since then, every time I’ve tried to reach the hospital, my calls are cut off as soon as I say a word in English.nnThe mistreatment I experienced because I don’t speak French was infuriating. My sister, who does speak French, was with me, but they withheld important information from her. Instead, they thought it was more reasonable explaining things to me—right after surgery, while I was still under the effects of anesthesia—and they did this in French. I don’t remember a single thing they told me or what happened to me back there. In my confused state, the staff ignored me, and I could hear them laughing at me and mocking my pain from behind closed doors. It felt humiliating, like they didn’t see me as a person.nnIf I had the means, I would pursue legal action without a second thought. All I can do now is hope that the hospital reconsiders how they treat people in their most vulnerable moments. No one should ever have to feel the way I did. If you don’t speak French, or even if you do, I would strongly urge you not to go to this hospital. You deserve better than to be treated like an animal.

Went to Notre Dame because it's close to my place and my situation was a bit an emergency. I knew that at night time I was gonna wait a while. Ended up waiting 12h. At some point I asked if I could go home because I live 1min away and if they could call me when it's my turn they told me I was in the few next to pass and I would pass before 8am it was 4am at this time. I waited and waited and obviously I got called finally at 8am after being there for more than 12h i dont blame them our system is broken here. The doctor was really sweet and concerned about my case.nThe only problem I have is I told her I was allergic to a specific drug and she still prescribe it to me she told me it was gonna be fine. But hence my lack of sleep I go to the pharmacy and they won't give it to me! So I had to wait 45min at the pharmacy trying to find a solution because obviously I am not going back to the hospital to wait an other 12h.nAlso one of the security guard in the day shift was really rude to me. Clearly my foot is super swollen so I couldn't keep my shoe on and he forced me to put it back. Also the place was really messy, bathroom was dirty, there was trash on the floor and stuff.

Definitely in need of surgeons and nurses. We were 4 patients to have the same appointment time with the same surgeon, who was already busy with caring for 20 people. I've waited 3 hours before having my surgery plus the time it takes to finish off the papers!!! In what country are we??

What is the goal of an appointment if you need to wait over 2hrs?! Tech was calling clients at a 1hr30mins interval. A real joke of a hospital with bad vibes. *update*nThe technicien was kind and they were actually overloaded by the software system which put everybody at almost the same time...still mediocre but deserves one more star.