The construction of the Surgical Center of the Laurentians region, which will eventually make it possible to perform more than ten surgical procedures per day, will be able to go ahead. After a year and a half of waiting, the Ministry of Health finally granted him his permit on Thursday.
The Press reported last week that the Surgical Center located in Saint-Jérôme had to stop its construction work while waiting for the permit from the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS). On Thursday, the minister’s office announced that it had granted it1.
“We need to grant licenses more quickly, especially for clinics that specialize in surgeries where the need is greatest, and this clinic has. It is precisely for this reason that the minister asked that we be able to analyze the file more quickly and that is what was done, ”said the press attaché to the Minister of Health, Antoine de la Durantaye.
The Surgical Center team said it was happy that this stage of the project had been settled, but it is still awaiting the Ministry’s favorable opinion concerning agreement 108 with the CISSS des Laurentides, allowing it to receive and operate patients covered by the RAMQ. “Hoping that this last stage of approval from the MSSS will take place in the coming days, our agreement having been sent to the ministry since October 2022,” said Marilyn Croizer, director of operations at the Laurentian region surgical center.
Ultimately, this Laurentian medical center will be able to perform more than 16 surgical procedures, including orthopedic, bariatric and general procedures, and 28 endoscopies per day on patients in the public health network.
Currently, more than 10,000 patients are waiting for an operation in the Laurentians. Before the pandemic, the waiting list had 7,000 names.
At the beginning of February, the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, showed signs of impatience in the face of waiting lists for surgery which have not diminished in Quebec since the pandemic. As of December 31, 20,649 people had been waiting more than 12 months for surgery. This level was around 3000 before the health crisis.
With Ariane Lacoursière, The Press