(Quebec) The dismissal of the president and CEO of the CISSS de la Côte-Nord sows shock and anger in the region. The Assembly of MRCs of the North Shore is calling for an emergency meeting with the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé.
“At the level of the elected representatives of the Côte-Nord, we received this news with a lot of amazement,” lamented the president of the MRC Assembly of the Côte-Nord, Meggie Richard.
“We were really waiting for action from the government. Did we think that in the middle of a storm, in the middle of a crisis, we were going to lose the captain of the CISSS? No. We rather hoped that following the numerous visits, in particular by Mr. Dubé and the Prime Minister, to see concrete actions really on the ground to put an end to this crisis which has been raging since the spring,” she added. has The Press.
The Council of Ministers terminated on Wednesday the employment contract of Manon Asselin as CEO of the CISSS de la Côte-Nord. The president of the board of directors, Ginette Côté, also loses her position.
On Thursday, the Minister of Health cited “several discrepancies” at the governance level to explain his decision. “We had a major disagreement in governance in general with the North Shore, then not only with the CEO, but with the board of directors. So for me, it was clear that we could not continue like this,” Mr. Dubé said in the press scrum.
“I had a lot of calls from people who told me it was the right decision to make. I would not make more comments than that today,” added the minister in the morning, while voices were raised in the region to denounce the dismissal of Mr.me Asselin.
“Ms. Asselin, particularly in recent months, has always been available and attentive to us,” underlined Meggie Richard, who wonders whether the former CEO had the “tools to successfully meet the challenge.” The Assembly of MRCs of the North Shore is now calling for an emergency meeting with Minister Dubé to “know the government’s game plan” for the future.
The president of the council of doctors, dentists and pharmacists of the CISSS de la Côte-Nord indicated that the news is a “shock” for doctors in the region. “This decision will not resolve [les problèmes] accessibility of care for the North Coast residents”, specified the Dr Youssef Ezahr.
For the Alliance of Professional and Technical Personnel in Health and Social Services (APTS), which represents some 900 members at the CISSS de la Côte-Nord, this is a “political dismissal”.
“Among our members, what we see is amazement, surprise and even disappointment and anger,” lamented the national representative for the region, Kevin Newbury.
“People had the impression that she was very close [des syndiqués] and it’s very rare to have access to the CEO like this. […] We question ourselves a lot. What we think is that the government is in difficulty at the moment, the solutions it has brought such as the flying team and service loans are not giving the expected results and it needed to find a responsible person “, he laments.
“We are capable of managing ourselves”
The North Shore has been plunged into a labor crisis since the tightening of government rules governing the use of independent labor. Quebec specified on Wednesday that “formal support for senior management of the CISSS de la Côte-Nord will be provided by the CIUSSS du Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean and by Santé Québec.” This measure had only recently been in force, it was clarified.
A decision that is difficult for elected officials to explain. “There is concern, but what we want above all is to know what the support mandate is. I think we have all the resources on the North Shore, we know our territory, we have the skills, we are capable of managing ourselves,” says M.me Richard.
The Assembly of MRC de la Côte-Nord indicates that a meeting should take place soon with the minister responsible, Kateri Champagne Jourdain. “A change in governance was necessary so that we could improve health care on the North Shore,” the minister said Thursday, specifying that it is “one of the solutions” to resolve the crisis.