North Shore | Doctors accuse Quebec of ‘playing Russian roulette’ with patients

2024-08-08 18:43:50

(Quebec) Ten doctors from the North Shore are accusing Quebec of “playing Russian roulette” with patients by imposing a “new flawed and dangerous standard of care” for creating a workforce crisis due to the shutdown of facilities.

Posted at 2:43 PM

On Thursday, ten leading doctors from different medical departments of Baiko Moleroye Hospital sounded the alarm. They warned in a letter that the CISSS crisis that has hit the north coast since spring could reach its peak next week press Able to consult.

“We are concerned following the repeated closures of the emergency rooms at Les Escoumins and Forestville, as well as the mother and baby center at Baicomo Factory. We believe that North Coast residents should know that we will not be able to safely visit our regional centers in the coming weeks. Heal them,” they lamented.

Dr. Youssef Ezahr, Chairman of the Council of Physicians, Dentists and Pharmacists (CMDP) tells us press A new emergency plan is being developed on the North Shore on Thursday.

According to him, the emergency room in Baicomo has only half the number of nurses. Intensive care unit staff will then be transferred to the emergency room, which will result in the closure of this sensitive unit and the possible transfer of patients outside the area. This spring, patients, including children, had to be transferred due to staffing shortages.

Baie-Comeau is more than 400 kilometers from Quebec.

The CISSS de la Côte-Nord has not yet confirmed this information. “We are continuing to work to fill various nursing shifts over the coming weeks. If there are adjustments to emergency services in Baicomo, communications will be broadcast,” the agency wrote in an email.

“With the holidays approaching, this is a difficult time of year. We are keeping up the pressure to quickly find solutions to avoid breakdowns in Baicomo’s emergency services.

Photo EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, Los Angeles Press Archives

Minister of Health Christian Dube

“Unrealistic” scenario

In the letter, the doctor asserts that Quebec is “trying to [leur] To gain acceptance of new standards of care that are flawed and dangerous for the population. They accuse the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) of keeping patients in the dark.

“The contingency plan proposed by the ministry is unrealistic,” Dr. Izar said in an interview.

“The department knew a closure was coming but asked you not to do it. He recommended moving staff to emergency rooms without adequate training. He set dangerous patient ratios in the hope that he would leave the health care system with Huge holes and people don’t get too sick.

[Le Ministère] Playing Russian roulette with the citizens of Quebec, he hopes to avoid this crisis, as he has in recent weeks.

Excerpt from letter signed by head of medical department

The “non-existent” flying team

Doctors regret the slow pace of implementation of the assistance promised by Minister Christian Dube and the formation of a new flying team. press Reports on Wednesday suggested that reinforcements were indeed arriving on the North Shore and Abitibi-Timiskaminge.

“The Flying Team, widely publicized and praised by the minister, is non-existent on the ground. Ending the government’s scandal of withdrawing independent workers is just smoke and mirrors,” the group criticized. ” Dr. Ezahr also met Christian Dubé during a visit to the North Shore in early July.

“We’re back to the same speech […]. We asked for administrative means so that we could have independent workers,” explains Dr. Ezahr.

He specifically requested that health agencies be authorized to enter into over-the-counter contracts with companies while the situation stabilizes. “This crisis must be contained before citizens pay the price with their lives for too hasty political decisions,” the doctors wrote.

The CISSS de la Côte-Nord was caught in a firestorm this spring when certain provisions of a new law aimed at eliminating the use of independent labor, such as price limits, came into effect. This makes it impossible to charge overtime pay.

This creates a problem in remote areas, where agency staff (mostly external) work a cumulative 60 or 70 hours per week. This spring, the MSSS stepped up its calls for order, even threatening to terminate contracts with agencies that no longer meet business needs.

Quebec wants to completely wean itself off reliance on private employment agencies within three years. The North Shore is one of the last areas to implement a total ban in 2026.

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