Access to health care in Abitibi-Témiscamingue is more difficult than in other comparable regions in Quebec, according to a new study by the Institute for Socioeconomic Research and Information (IRIS) published Thursday.
Posted at 8:00 a.m.
Due to a lack of access to care, approximately 2,400 residents of Abitibi-Témiscamingue turned to Ontario in 2019 for care, researchers Krystof Beaucaire and Bertrand Schepper learned when submitting a request for access to the information from the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ).
According to the IRIS team, which describes itself as a “progressive” research institute, 72% of emergency room visits in Abitibi-Témiscamingue “are made by people who need first-line care, compared to an average of 53% in Quebec “.
This leads the researchers to say that “the poor access to first-line care and family doctors is observed in the large number of people who fall back on the emergency rooms, already overcrowded, to receive basic care” in Abitibi- Temiscamingue.
After analyzing the issue of access to health care in the Outaouais in 2021, IRIS focused on Abitibi-Témiscamingue. The researchers noted in particular that the ratio of nursing assistants per thousand inhabitants is lower in certain MRCs of Abitibi-Témiscamingue than in similar regions.
Ratio of nursing staff per thousand population
Abitibi-Témiscamingue: 7.8
North Coast : 8.4
Gaspé: 9.3
Krystof Beaucaire acknowledges that the number of family physicians per thousand inhabitants in Abitibi-Témiscamingue is similar to the Quebec average (1.2 compared to 1.3 for Quebec). But certain sub-regions, in particular the Vallée-de-l’Or, are much less well served, with a ratio of 0.9 family doctors per 1,000 inhabitants. “However, it should be noted that access to a family doctor is an issue everywhere in Quebec and that approaching the Quebec average is in no way a sign of good accessibility to services,” write the researchers.
Abitibi-Témiscamingue also has “a higher ratio of people waiting for day surgery per thousand inhabitants” (9.6) than the regions of Côte-Nord (8.5) and Gaspésie – Îles-de-la-Madeleine (6.7), according to IRIS.
Mr. Beaucaire specifies that we must also take into account the geographical reality of Abitibi-Témiscamingue, which has only 148,242 inhabitants spread over the fourth territory in terms of surface area of the province. As a result, staffing needs are “greater” than in denser regions.
Evils “that could be avoided”
Over the past few months, the lack of personnel has led to a reduction in services in Abitibi-Témiscamingue. The obstetrics department of the Ville-Marie hospital was notably closed for nearly five months in 2021. The hours of service in certain CLSCs were also reduced, especially at night.
For the researchers, the reduced access to health care in Abitibi-Témiscamingue “causes its population of stress and suffering that could be avoided if the situation in the region were taken seriously”.
For Mr. Beaucaire, the “biggest health problem in Abitibi-Témiscamingue is the shortage of personnel”. A situation that dates back to before the pandemic. “The situation has been going on for a long time and we are not doing enough to rectify the situation,” he said. The next region that will come under the IRIS magnifying glass is Lanaudière.
The CISSS of Abitibi-Témiscamingue did not want to comment on the situation on Wednesday, not having read the study.