Quebec is launching “community paramedicine” pilot projects in certain regions, in order to test “better use” of paramedic ambulance technicians, at a time when the shortage of labor is still worrying many in the community.
Posted at 12:56 p.m.
“If we succeed in making this transformation, that will mean the paramedics will not necessarily bring people to the emergency room. It may be to do it more at home, and that’s why we will have these pilot projects: to see if we can better treat people at home, “said Minister of Health Christian Dubé, in a scrum in Bécancour on Tuesday.
He maintains that Quebec must “better use paramedics before going to the hospital, and ideally avoid the hospital”. The new pilot projects will allow paramedics to perform a series of manipulations at home, without going to the hospital, including checking vital signs, monitoring medications, evaluating psychological state, even social support, or even withdrawals. Such projects have already been carried out in the past, particularly in Montérégie.
Photo Jacques Boissinot, The Canadian Press
Christian Dube
The minister also wants to “improve” the dashboard that his government has been broadcasting since mid-May, with, among other things, the portrait of emergencies, the waiting lists for surgery or the deadlines for obtaining an evaluation at the DPJ. “Where are we good at going to people’s homes? How long does it take us to get to the nearest hospital or emergency room? We have all this information that we have started to collect, and it will help us to compare the different pre-hospital systems,” said Mr. Dubé.
His government still does not rule out possibly integrating the pre-hospital sector into the front-line access counter (GAP), which is still being deployed throughout Quebec, so that paramedics can refer a patient to other services in need.
“That said, you have to start walking before you run. It is already installed in 40 places, we would like it to go up to 80 and we would like the pre-hospital sector to be able to integrate”, reiterated the minister, acknowledging however that there are “legal limits” to paramedicine. Discussions are also underway with the College of Physicians of Quebec (CMQ) on this subject.
From shift to schedule “on the hour”
Quebec also confirmed on Tuesday an investment of 26 million to convert 46 shift schedules – which require paramedics to remain available 24 hours a day – into “on time” schedules. The government is thus responding to a long-standing request in several municipalities, and thus hopes to “ensure a better quality of service to the population” and “optimize the coverage of the territory”.
In a press release, the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) affirms that this new orientation “is based on a decentralizing vision and constitutes a first step to allow the regions to be fully responsible for the ambulance coverage of their territory. , according to their reality and the needs of their respective populations”.
Simultaneously, the ministry will also extend 2.5 million to “provide 17,000 hours of additional coverage in regions allowing for ad hoc additions of resources according to demand”. A complete government action plan must be presented “soon” on pre-hospital services, probably after the provincial election on October 3.