Sol was right. The hospital is sick, as the late comedian said in a hilarious monologue that is still as topical as ever.1.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
Are the patients caring? “Yes, smaller and smaller! “, mocked the philosopher clown in a joke that joins the words of the DD Lucie Opatriny. On Tuesday, the Deputy Minister warned us that we could end up offering quality “B” care instead of “A+” because of the 5and wave.
Doctors are rare? “If we are lucky enough to see one pass by, we say to ourselves: ah, I saw one: an ovnipractitioner! “, also joked Sol, without knowing that today we would reach a record of 850,000 Quebecers waiting for a family doctor.
The elders have been abandoned? It’s the fault of the “walking virus.” He throws powder at the old people, ”said the juggler of words whose words are not so far removed from the sad findings on the CHSLDs contained in the report tabled Wednesday by the commissioner for health and well-being, Joanne Castonguay.
This is all no joke. Our health care system is struggling because it has been neglected for too long. And the pandemic is now forcing us to review our priorities.
For years, achieving a zero deficit has been a credo in Quebec. The results exceeded our expectations, as evidenced by the reduction in our debt ratio.
You see, the ratio of gross debt to GDP fell from 54% in 2015 to 43.2% in 2020, just before the pandemic. The province exceeded its target six years ahead of schedule. And even if indebtedness increased in 2021 due to the pandemic, the ratio is expected to decline to 42.5% in 2026, well below the 45% target.
Well done ! Cleaning up our public finances has brought undeniable benefits. It has given our credit rating a boost, allowing us to finance our debt at a lower cost. A very good thing since Quebec remains one of the most indebted provinces and interest rates are about to rise.
There is no doubt that cleaning up our public finances was necessary. But by going so fast, we have mortgaged our essential services. And we are paying the price today.
It is in large part because of our cramped health care system that the pressure of COVID-19 is much stronger in Quebec.
Faced with the Omicron wave, the government has therefore imposed much stricter health measures than elsewhere in North America. Measures that the Legault government still refuses to lift, even if it sees the “light at the end of the tunnel”, when Ontario has just announced a reopening plan and the United States and Europe are deconfining .
All of this comes at a huge cost. As proof, National Bank economists were forced to reduce their forecast for Quebec’s real GDP growth by more than half a percentage point for 2022 this week.
But beyond the cold numbers, there are also people who are suffering, people who are dying. Seniors were the first to taste it, as demonstrated by the Castonguay report, which paints an implacable portrait of the situation in CHSLDs.
Despite the aging of the population, the number of places has not kept pace in CHSLDs, which are finding themselves with increasingly heavy cases, without having the corresponding budgets.
Personnel driving at maximum capacity have no leeway to react to shocks. And what about the buildings? Barely a quarter of CHSLDs are safe, clean and well maintained. It’s to cry.
As the CAQ prepares its next budget, which will serve as its electoral platform, it is time to review priorities.
“It seems clear that debt reduction should not be an endless goal,” concluded a panel of about fifteen economists after a round table last December.2.
For the sake of intergenerational equity, we do not want to leave a mountain of debt to our children. But neither should we bequeath to them public services that are creaking everywhere: poorly ventilated schools, crumbling bridges, overstretched youth protection…
There is an urgent need to inject the necessary funds to treat our ailing health system. Ottawa must also pay its share. But it’s not just a question of money. We also need to do better. Be more efficient.
This inevitably involves better use of data, the Achilles’ heel of the health network. Here, we can rejoice to have Christian Dubé at the helm, who is fully aware of the challenge, who seems well equipped to tackle it… and obtain results where so many others have failed before him.
Sol said, “I take on my responsibilities!” »
We can’t wait to see Minister Dubé at work.