Your name is Gilles Crevier, you pay taxes and you expect the doctor to be able to see you when you have a boo-boo. You do what the State suggests to do to see a doctor, I’ll let Mr. Crevier explain…
“Through 811, I made an appointment to see a doctor at my GMF. After submitting the problem for which I wanted to see a doctor, I pointed out to the nurse that I also had another problem to present to the doctor. Believe it or not, she told me that this was not possible and that I would have to make another appointment for this problem. I told him that it didn’t make sense for me to go through the whole process again (call, return call, waiting in line) and that I wouldn’t have to travel twice and start again. with another doctor the basic questions during an appointment…”
In short, Mr. Crevier had two ailments, not one. He pleaded his case to the 811 nurse: it would be cumbersome, complex and absurd to have to make another appointment for my second sore, right?
Response from the nurse, relayed by Mr. Crevier: “Not possible. »
This is one case among a thousand which illustrates how difficult the famous “first line” is to access in Quebec.
This illustrates the extent to which the health system, this mammoth, is not very “agile”, to use a term dear to management consultants.
And every day, the news provides us with other examples of failures, cumbersomeness, and difficulties of access. Here, let’s recap three cases from the last few days…
One, doctors from Outaouais recently launched a heartfelt cry: we are losing staff to Ontario, we lack cutting-edge equipment and soon, patients will end up dying… A coroner, in fact, has already describes the emergency room of the Gatineau Hospital as “one of the worst” in the West1.
Two, 12 emergency doctors from Hautes-Laurentides recently denounced the conditions of care in hospitals in Pays-d’en-Haut: there is a lack of staff, equipment and space to treat patients safely.2. Some have chosen to no longer practice in the Rivière-Rouge emergency room: “We consider that we could no longer offer safe care there without jeopardizing our practice permits. »
Three: associations of doctors and medical technologists recently denounced Optilab, these laboratories which analyze patient samples3. Blood tests, biopsies, etc. : to establish the correct diagnosis, laboratory tests are sometimes necessary… But the results are often lost or forgotten4. This is not the first time that this type of failure at Optilab has been denounced.
I’m leaving the news, I’m still dragging you into my messaging: a child has ear infection problems, his mother wants to get him treated. Have you ever had a screaming child in your lap because of ear infections? It’s pretty hellish. The mother makes a request to consult an otolaryngologist at the Service Request Dispatch Center (CRDS), the center which sorts out requests to see a specialist doctor…
And the answer comes quite quickly (surprise), the mother is quickly referred to an ENT (surprise). The appointment is made, the 16-month-old baby is examined by the doctor who believes that it will be necessary to install tubes in the child’s ears, a routine operation…
But (surprise), the doctor pulls a rabbit out of his hat: “It’s my last day in the public,” he announces to the mother, “come see me at my private clinic, I can then operate on her…”
Cost of the private operation: more or less $3,000.
I am talking to you here about cases in my messaging or in the headlines, for a few days, the week when Minister Christian Dubé announced his duo of top guns to manage the health system.
Geneviève Biron made a career in the laboratories of the same name, therefore in the private sector. Frédéric Abergel made a career in the public network (CEO of a CIUSSS and boss of the CHUM).
I don’t know if an “agency” will bring the health system back into line with the world. And I admit that I have not yet fully understood how an “agency” will be more effective than a “ministry”. But it is a case, I fear, of “There you go…”
At this point, I mean in this Lada in the form of a health system: why not give it a try?
Once there, repeat: a CEO coming from the private sector, what do we have to lose? It’s not as if public managers have managed to turn the mammoth into a gazelle for 25 years, quite the contrary.
Finally, we wish good luck to Mme Biron.
This week, Léger presented a devastating survey for the very idea of public services in Quebec: 75% of respondents believe they do not get value for their money, for their taxes, when it comes to government services received5.
Jean-Marc Léger, the pollster: “I’ve been doing this job for almost 40 years, and these are the worst results I’ve seen on government efficiency. »
In this survey, 17% of respondents said they received enough government services for their money.
It’s very high, 17%, I think, given the disaster.
1. Read an article from Radio-Canada
2. Read an article from Duty
3. Read an article from TVA Nouvelles
4. Listen to an interview conducted by Patrick Lagacé on 98.5 FM
5. Read an article from Quebec Journal