In the hope of improving access to primary care for the population, Quebec is inaugurating Friday in Montreal one of the largest specialized nurse practitioner (SNP) clinics to date in the province, it has been learned The duty.
Located near the Snowdon metro station, in the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough, this IPS clinic is the twelfth of its kind to open in Quebec since 2022. In total, Health Minister Christian Dubé plans to deploy 23 across the territory by 2028.
In operation since last Tuesday, the clinic welcomes people by appointment from Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will have seven nurse practitioners specialized in primary care and mental health, as well as clinical nurses, a physiotherapist and a social worker. This fall, three additional NPs are expected to join the team.
Specialized nurse practitioners are able to diagnose illnesses, determine what treatments to give to patients and monitor pregnancies. Since December 7, they can also provide end-of-life care.
Since April 15, IPSs have also been authorized to take care of people who do not have a family doctor. Currently, 640,000 people in this situation are listed at the Frontline Access Desk.
New phase expected for IPS
For now, front-line nurse practitioners can only register people in their name at IPS clinics. However, the government eventually wants to allow them to do so in all settings where they practice their profession.
In an interview at Duty, Maude Raymond, president of the Association of Specialized Nurse Practitioners of Quebec, emphasizes that she is “impatiently” waiting for IPSs to be able to register patients in their name in family medicine groups (GMFs).
This aspect remains to be negotiated with the Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec, given that its members who practice in GMF receive a bonus when they supervise a nurse.
The fact remains that the inauguration of a new IPS clinic in Montreal is “good news,” adds Mr.me Raymond. “The more we open, the more we will be able to take care of a more phenomenal number of patients.” This also helps reduce pressure on emergency rooms, where people go without a family doctor, she notes.
Following the review by the Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec on May 6, there are now a total of 1,685 IPSs authorized to practice in the province. By 2025, the Quebec government aims to have 2,000.