Every Quebecer will now be affiliated with a local community service centre (CLSC) in their area to receive care close to home. This was announced Friday morning by the Minister of Health when she unveiled the government\u2019s policy on primary care and services.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTo realize our vision of a frontline close to the community, we will ensure that CLSCs can once again become a physical gateway for access to frontline services for all those who need them,\u201d said Health Minister Sonia B\u00e9langer at a press conference, adding that \u201cCLSCs are a source of pride for Quebecers, a founding idea of \u200b\u200bour public system.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for what will concretely change in access to care in the CSLCs, B\u00e9langer had difficulty formulating a clear answer, since it is Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec that will be in charge of operating everything and the Ministry of Health is mainly announcing a vision.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A patient who used to go to the emergency room for their health problems will likely not be able to go to the CLSC hoping for faster treatment. At best, they will be assessed and referred to another health service.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s get a nurse in there and take the load off that doctor and let the doctor see the\u00a0sickest patients,\u201d said Nathan Friedland, nurse. \u201cWhy are you going to see a physician for an ear infection or a urinary tract infection or a laceration that a nurse or nurse practitioner can deal with?.\u201d<\/p>\n
For psychosocial issues, it will be different. B\u00e9langer said that CLSCs will be there to support people. \u201cFamily Medicine Groups (GMFs) will be there to provide care, appointments, and walk-in services. CLSCs are something else entirely. Generally speaking, a CLSC is a local community service centre. Let\u2019s not forget that. It\u2019s not an emergency clinic. A CLSC is really there to organize primary health services, mental health, home support, youth services, maternal and child health, etc.,\u201d explained B\u00e9langer<\/p>\n
While in Saint-Hyacinthe to announce aid to a business, Premier Fran\u00e7ois Legault emphasized that for the past 20 years, all health reports have indicated that addressing the system\u2019s problems must begin at the primary care level. \u201cCLSCs should be the entry point to primary care, and that doesn\u2019t preclude having family medicine groups (GMFs),\u201d commented Legault.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s worth remembering that from the moment they opened in the 1970s, doctors shunned CLSCs. Even today, few doctors work in CLSCs, as they prefer family medicine groups (FMGs). \u201cWhen we talk about rural areas, it\u2019s possible that some doctors, because they don\u2019t have an FMG, will set up practice in a CLSC, and we\u2019ll applaud that. In urban areas, it can be different,\u201d acknowledged M\u00e9langer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a press scrum, the president of the Quebec Federation of General Practitioners (FMOQ), Dr. Marc-Andr\u00e9 Amyot, emphasized that some doctors work in CLSCs (local community health centres). When asked if there would be more doctors in CLSCs with the new government policy, he replied that he didn\u2019t think it would change \u201cthe orientation of where doctors practice.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the best-functioning health systems in the world, they talk about local governance. We seem to want to move in that direction, bringing together all community actors, medical professionals, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, all clinics together, to determine the right care based on location,\u201d added Dr. Amyot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While we wait for concrete actions<\/p>\n
The Quebec Provincial Association of Users\u2019 Committees (RPCU) reacted Friday in a press release. It believes the government\u2019s intention is good, but criticizes the timeline it has set for itself. \u201cUsers of the network cannot afford to wait a full decade before seeing concrete results.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Quebec Interprofessional Health Federation (FIQ) welcomes the intention to give CLSCs a central role in welcoming, guiding, and coordinating services. However, it questions how the government\u2019s objectives will be achieved.<\/p>\n
\u201cCLSCs should not simply become a new access point,\u201d emphasizes President Julie Bouchard in a press release. \u201cIf we only refer patients to Family Medicine Groups or redirect them towards self-care, we lose the essence of this new vision.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Patients\u2019 Alliance for Health stated that the role of CLSCs has been devalued over the years. \u201cAlthough the ministerial announcement comes at the end of the mandate, the Alliance is asking Minister B\u00e9langer for immediate action that will quickly lead to the consolidation of primary care, starting with dedicated financial investments,\u201d reads a press release.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As for the Quebec Order of Nurses (OIIQ), it was quite complimentary in its comments. \u201cIf we had been asked to write a policy on primary care and services, we would be hard-pressed to do better! Of course, we still have many questions regarding the operationalization of this bold vision, but at this stage, it is important first to recognize the richness of the orientations outlined,\u201d wrote Luc Mathieu, president of the OIIQ.<\/p>\n
Eight new IPS clinics<\/p>\n
Furthermore, within five years, the government aims to add approximately 100 \u201cintegrated entry points\u201d for a total of 205 across all regions of Quebec. Currently, 88 of these are accessible in nine regions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Minister B\u00e9langer also announced the deployment of eight new nurse practitioner (NP) clinics in the Bas-Saint-Laurent, Laurentides, Gasp\u00e9sie, Mont\u00e9r\u00e9gie-Ouest, Lanaudi\u00e8re, and Bellechasse-Sud regions, as well as in Estrie and Montreal. By 2030, there will therefore be 26 NP clinics in Quebec.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the same time, B\u00e9langer indicated that the Your Health platform would soon be deployed on a larger scale in Quebec. For now, two Your Health pilot projects have been launched in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region and the municipality of Saint-Donat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are well aware that some citizens prefer to use digital or telephone access points. That is why I am announcing that we will be deploying Your Health, which is already launched in two regions and will soon become the only user-friendly and efficient digital access point for all of Quebec. Your Health is a platform that brings together all online services, including the Health Record, Clic Sant\u00e9 and Health Appointments, as well as a technological tool for self-care,\u201d B\u00e9langer explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The deployment of the Your Health platform was an election promise of the Coalition Avenir Qu\u00e9bec (CAQ) in 2022, which at the time spoke of a \u201creal revolution\u201d that would allow Quebecers \u201cto obtain a medical appointment in person or via telehealth in a single simple and easy step.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe number of ambulatory patients that are waiting at emergency wards, if this diminishes, then it means that the system works,\u201d said Paul Brunet, chair for Montreal Council for the Protection of Patients.<\/p>\n
\u2014The Canadian Press\u2019s health coverage is supported by a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. The Canadian Press is solely responsible for this journalistic content.<\/p>\n
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