(Quebec) Christian Dubé will carry out checks to “understand exactly” what caused two nurses to slam the door at the new IPS clinic in east Montreal. The opposition accuses him of having taken “no follow-up measures” to prevent this “shameful” situation.
Posted at 12:56 p.m.
“I will be careful, that’s what I said to the Prime Minister this morning. When I saw the article, which initially worried me a little, I spoke to the CEO of the CIUSSS de l’est de Montréal,” the health minister said on Friday. “I asked the CEO: Can you tell me more about the situation and why it happened? […] Let me check what is going on there because our goal is to provide service. »
La Presse revealed on Friday that the only two full-time specialized nurses (IPS) slammed the door on the nursing clinic founded a year ago due to problems affecting “the quality and safety of care.” In a letter, the two resignations reported the “hurdles” of the past year and the “lack of stability” of resources.
The establishment of IPS clinics is one of the flagship measures of the crisis team set up by the Minister of Health last year to reduce the overload of emergency rooms. The Eastern Clinic was completed in record time and was the first to be inaugurated.
On Friday, Mr. Dubé wanted to put things in perspective: “It’s not much, it’s two out of three nurses who left.” […] “There may be a case that needs to be investigated, particularly what happened to these two nurses, and in personal cases I have learned from experience that you have to be careful,” he said.
François Legault, questioned in the House of Representatives by the leader of the Parti Québécois, expressed a similar sentiment: “We have a problem with two nurses, two nurses.” “Then, to be honest, I think the PQ leader should be careful before he does that situation of these two nurses goes too far,” the Prime Minister said during Question Time on Friday.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, who is also MP for Camille-Laurin in East Montreal, accuses the government of “making an announcement by not taking any follow-up action and not providing the necessary resources for the work of this clinic.”
The IPS were left to fend for themselves. The Prime Minister has often told us to judge him on results. The question for the Prime Minister: How should the population judge in the face of such failures?
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, leader of the Parti Québécois
Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon reported that occupancy in the emergency departments of Maisonneuve-Rosemont and Santa Cabrini hospitals was 135% on Wednesday. “So this is not a theoretical problem. “The IPS clinic is no longer functioning, these nurses have raised their hands several times and I ask who is responsible for this situation,” he lamented.
Reactivate the crisis team
For his part, Liberal MP André Fortin is demanding that the Minister of Health reactivate the crisis team set up last November to find quick solutions and alleviate emergency situations. “We wonder what’s left of the crisis team,” the Pontiac representative said.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
André Fortin
“I hope that the idea of the IPS clinics was not just a coincidence. When they were announced, Minister Dubé made a big deal of them, an important and permanent solution to reduce congestion in the emergency room and provide different access to multiple patients. […] “It’s one thing to make an announcement and another to make it work afterwards,” he lamented.
Mr Fortin also followed the Health Minister slightly earlier this week on the issue of the crisis team, as pressure on emergencies increases with the return of respiratory viruses.
In the case of the clinic in East Montreal, Mr. Fortin is asking the minister to intervene. “It needs a quick turnaround,” he said in an interview.
For solidarity activist Vincent Marissal, the situation is “shameful”.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
Vincent Marissal
“It’s shameful that we didn’t expect this and that we couldn’t sustain it because it was a good idea that was easy to implement. We are not in the process of major structural reforms and moreover, it is a great step forward for the IPS,” lamented Mr. Marissal. The member for Rosemont, East Montreal, believes that this “fiasco” can still be “fixed” if the minister does his part.
“I request the minister to quickly dispatch a deputy minister to the scene and conduct a quick post-mortem. There is no need to take six months. […] Let’s go to the sources, look at what’s not working and fix it,” he added. Mr. Marissal also reiterates that he knows the establishment’s CEO, Jean-François Fortin-Verreault, well and has no doubt that he is “in good faith.”
Clearly something happened that didn’t work. OK. In order. We press reset and restart the matter.
Vincent Marissal, deputy of Quebec Solidaire
According to the latest budget presented by Minister Eric Girard, Quebec plans to create 23 new IPS clinics within five years, including six in 2023, to improve first-line access. The establishment of these clinics requires a total investment of 395 million by 2027-2028.
With Hugo Pilon-Larose