Three measures to improve the situation in emergencies in crisis, announces Christian Dubé

The Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé, announces three measures to improve the situation in emergencies in crisis. As of now, parents of sick children in the greater Montreal area can contact the 811 telephone line to obtain an appointment with the “right professional”. Two specialized nurse practitioner (SNP) clinics will also be created in Montreal in the coming days and weeks. New places will also be created in CHSLDs and in intermediate resources to accommodate hospitalized users who no longer require care.

These solutions were put forward by the crisis unit created by the Minister and coordinated by Daniel Desharnais, Assistant Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Health and Social Services. Among the 20 members are 10 doctors:

• D^D Shannon Fraser, Physician and Head of the General Surgery Division – Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital and Medical Director Command Center – CIUSSS Centre-Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal
• D^r Gilbert Boucher, emergency physician at the Montreal Heart Institute and president of the Association of Emergency Medicine Specialists of Quebec
• D^D Élyse Berger-Pelletier, emergency physician at Hôtel-Dieu de Lévis, CISSS Chaudières-Appalaches
• D^D Emmanuelle Jourdenais, emergency physician at the CHUM
• D^r Alexander Sasha Dubrovsky, pediatric emergency physician at the Montreal Children’s Hospital of the MUHC
• D^r Mauril Gaudreault, President of the College of Physicians
• D^r Cédric Andrès, psychiatrist, head of department, Notre-Dame Hospital, CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal
• D^D Pascale Dubois, Center Hospitalier de Verdun, physician specializing in internal medicine, CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal
• D^D Ariane Murray, Head of the Montreal Regional Department of General Medicine (DRMG), CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal
• D^D Josée Savoie, Assistant Director of Professional Services at the CIUSSS du Nord-de-l’Île-de-Montréal

Two nurses also take part in the work:

• Delphine Alberto, Emergency Head Nurse at Santa Cabrini Hospital, CIUSSS de l’Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal
• Josianne Arsenault, advanced practice nurse in the CHUM emergency department and nurse clinician EVAQ, CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal

Deputy ministers from the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux as well as chief executive officers and managers of the network are also at the table of the crisis unit:

• D^r Pierre Gfeller, President and CEO of the MUHC
• Mr. Richard Deschamps, President and CEO of the CISSS de Montérégie-Centre
• Mr. Jean-François Fortin-Verreault, President and CEO of the CIUSSS de l’Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal
• Ms. Caroline Barbir, President and CEO of CHU Sainte-Justine
• Mr. Luc Méthot, Assistant Director of the Support for Seniors’ Autonomy Program at the CIUSSS du Centre-Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal
• D^D Lucie Opatrny, Assistant Deputy Minister at the Assistant General Directorate for Hospital Services, Medicines and Clinical Relevance
• Mr. Marc-Nicolas Kobrynsky, Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Planning and Performance Branch
• Mr. Daniel Paré, Associate Deputy Minister, Human Resources and Compensation Branch

During Tuesday’s press conference, Minister Dubé was accompanied by the Assistant Deputy Minister of the General Directorate of Academic, Medical, Nursing and Pharmaceutical Affairs of his ministry, Dr.^D Lucie Opatrny, and the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Department’s Network and Departmental Coordination and Institutional Affairs Department, Daniel Desharnais.

The average stretcher occupancy rate was 125% in Quebec emergency rooms on Tuesday at 11 a.m. It was 134% in Montreal, 170% in the Laurentians and 193% in Lanaudière.

Further details will follow.

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