CLSC Hochelaga-Maisonneuve | Quebec tackles the “lack of services” in the east of Montreal

A new university family medicine group (GMF-U) will be created at the CLSC Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, in the east of Montreal. Five million will be invested there to tackle the “lack of services” in the district. And as of July, four medical residents from the Université de Montréal will join the team.

Henri Ouellette-Vezina
The Press

“You see there the roots of community health in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve,” launched the CEO of the CIUSSS de l’Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, Jean-François Fortin Verreault, during a conference of press held early Monday.

Ultimately, the new GMF-U aims to train a dozen professionals, mostly medical residents, but also nurse practitioners. This is an important addition for the CLSC team, which currently has about twenty employees, including physiotherapists, social workers and pharmacists.

As of the beginning of July, four medical residents from the Université de Montréal will join their ranks. “In 2022, it’s quite an achievement for an environment that does not yet exist”, raised the D^D Pascale Brault, medical director of the new GMF-U, in reference to the labor shortage which complicates the hiring of personnel and the lack of recognition of the profession.

However, she insisted on the need to provide care “outside the established frameworks” in the neighborhood. “It’s not just going to be about access to doctors,” she noted, citing access to affordable food, financial and real estate stress, and air quality as such priority issues. to be taken into account for the health of the population.

“Very concrete” benefits

On site, the Minister responsible for the Metropolis and MP for Pointe-aux-Trembles, Chantal Rouleau, estimated that this new GMF-U “will have very concrete benefits” in a neighborhood “where the needs are growing”. “Here, the community is populous, and it is also aging. It is therefore essential to have a service offer that meets the needs,” she said.

The minister was also delighted with the partnership with the University of Montreal, a sign according to her that the east of the metropolis “is capable of attracting university centres”. “What we offer today is easier access to expanded care. It is a considerable gain, ”insisted the elected official.

At his side, the Vice-Dean of the Department of Medicine at the Université de Montréal, Dr.^r Mario Talajic, spoke of excellent news “in the context of a shortage of family doctors” and the need to “increase the cohorts of medicine” in Quebec. “It’s a clinical project that will address a lack of services for the population and, at the same time, give the opportunity to increase the number of doctors that we train within the University,” he said. he concluded.