(Quebec) Ten doctors from the Côte-Nord accuse Quebec of “playing Russian roulette” with patients by imposing “new deficient and dangerous standards of care” due to the workforce crisis caused by the end of the use of agencies.
Ten head physicians from the various medical departments at Le Royer Hospital in Baie-Comeau are sounding the alarm on Thursday. The crisis that has been plaguing the CISSS de la Côte-Nord since the spring could reach a peak next week, they warn in a letter that The Press was able to consult.
“After experiencing repeated closures of emergency rooms in Les Escoumins and Forestville, as well as the mother-child centre at our Baie-Comeau facility, we are concerned. We believe that the North Shore population deserves to know that we will not have the means to treat them safely in our regional centre in the coming weeks,” they lament.
The President of the Council of Physicians, Dentists and Pharmacists (CMDP), Dr.r Youssef Ezahr, indicated to The Press Thursday that a new contingency plan is being prepared on the North Shore.
According to him, the Baie-Comeau emergency room risks operating with half as many nurses. This would mean moving intensive care staff to the emergency room, which would lead to the closure of this key department and the possible transfer of patients outside the region. Patients, including children, had to be moved this spring due to a lack of manpower.
Baie-Comeau is located more than 400 kilometers from Quebec.
The CISSS de la Côte-Nord is not confirming this information at this time. “We are continuing our efforts to fill the various nursing shifts for the coming weeks. Communications will be sent out in the event that there is a modulation of services at the Baie-Comeau emergency room,” the establishment stated in an email.
“With the holidays, it’s a difficult time of year. We are maintaining the pressure to find solutions quickly and avoid service disruptions at the Baie-Comeau emergency room,” indicated the office of Minister Christian Dubé.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Health Minister Christian Dubé
“Unrealistic” scenarios
In their letter, the doctors state that Quebec is “trying to [leur] “to accept new standards of care that are deficient and dangerous for the population.” They accuse the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) of keeping patients in the dark.
“There are contingency plans, which are proposed by the ministry, which are unrealistic,” argued Dr.r Ezahr in interview.
“The Ministry knows about the upcoming closures, but it would prefer that you not know. It is proposing to move staff to the emergency room without adequate training. It is setting dangerous patient ratios in the hope that the population does not get too sick while it leaves gaping holes in the health care system,” they write bluntly.
He is playing Russian roulette with Quebec citizens and he hopes that the crisis will pass under the radar, as it has in recent weeks.
Excerpt from the letter signed by the heads of the medical departments
“Non-existent” flying squad
Doctors deplore the fact that the aid promised by Minister Christian Dubé, with the creation of a new flying team, is slow to materialize. The Press reported on Wednesday that reinforcements are indeed arriving in dribs and drabs on the Côte-Nord and in Abitibi-Témiscamingue.
“The flying squad widely promoted and praised by the minister is non-existent on the ground. It is just smoke and mirrors to extinguish the scandal of the withdrawal of independent labor by the government,” the group criticizes. The Dr Ezahr was also able to meet Christian Dubé during his visit to the Côte-Nord at the beginning of July.
“We come back to the same speech […]”We are asking for administrative levers so that we are able to have workers from the independent workforce,” explains Dr.r Ezahr.
In particular, he is asking that the health establishment be authorized to conclude private contracts with companies while the situation stabilizes. “This crisis must be brought under control before citizens pay with their lives the price of hasty political decisions,” the doctors write.
The CISSS de la Côte-Nord was plunged into a storm this spring when certain provisions of the new law aimed at eliminating the use of independent labour came into force, such as the capping of rates. It then became impossible to bill overtime.
This poses a problem in remote regions since agency employees, most of whom are from outside, accumulate 60 or 70-hour work weeks. The MSSS has issued numerous reminders this spring, going so far as to threaten to terminate contracts with agencies that no longer meet the needs of the establishments.
Quebec wants to completely wean itself off private employment agencies within three years. The Côte-Nord is one of the last regions where the complete ban will be in effect, in 2026.