The Mieux-Être medical center, located in the borough of Saint-Léonard in Montreal, gives a positive assessment of its first opening at night. The super-clinic (GMF-R) welcomed 106 patients between 8 p.m. Saturday and 5 a.m. Sunday. The management, which has expressed interest in the Legault government’s mini-hospital project, intends to repeat the experience in February or March.
The clinic team, made up of three doctors and two nurses, saw around fifty patients redirected by Montreal hospitals (Maisonneuve-Rosemont, Santa Cabrini, etc.). The fifty other patients booked a consultation through the Rendez-vous santé Québec (RVSQ) site.
The center first offered its medical consultation slots to hospitals. When these were not filled, he made them available on RVSQ at four hours’ notice, then at one hour’s notice, in the middle of the night.
“We wanted to see to what extent people wanted to consult a doctor right away,” explains Rémi Boulila, president and general manager of the Mieux-Être clinic network. “It was filling up [les plages] at 1 a.m., 1:10 a.m., 1:20 a.m. in the morning. Until 5 a.m. there were people online looking for an appointment with a doctor. We had people from Mirabel, from Saint-Eustache, who came to the clinic. »
There were many cases: ear infections, chest or headaches, fractures linked to a car or work accident, anxiety problems, etc. “We had a mother in her first trimester of pregnancy who was bleeding and who was worried,” cites Rémi Boulila as an example.
Six patients were redirected to the emergency room because their condition was “very bad”, indicates Rémi Boulila. “When we saw these people, we said to them: “Why didn’t you go to the emergency room?” They told us: “We don’t want to wait until 6 p.m..” » He cites the example of a person who was struggling to breathe and needed oxygen.
The medical center plans to extend its overnight hours two more times this winter — it is usually open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
“I think there are positive repercussions,” concludes Rémi Boulila. Is 24 hour service required? Is until 5 a.m. enough? Is 3 a.m. enough? I do not know. My sample is too small. »