The Ministry of Health changed its tune on Tuesday about a bonus granted to the Quebec Poison Control Center (CAPQ), where there were fears of an exodus of staff and a break in services.
The Ministry of Health planned to withdraw, on March 31, a critical care bonus that had been awarded to nurses for ten years. Faced with the withdrawal of this bonus, which corresponded to 14% of their salary, several employees considered leaving the Poison Control Centre.
The CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale confirmed on Tuesday that following work carried out with the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS), an administrative measure will be applied allowing nurses at the Center antipoison du Québec to retain the prime.
“The services of the Center antipoison du Québec, which make a significant contribution to the quality of care provided to the population, will be able to continue in a favorable context”, rejoiced the DD Maude St-Onge, intensive care specialist, medical toxicologist and medical director of the Center antipoison du Québec.
PHOTO PROVIDED
The DD Maude St Onge
An essential service
The Center antipoison du Québec, which offers a telephone consultation and advice service in the event of the ingestion of a toxic substance, is intended for health professionals, first responders and the general public.
In 2021, the Center handled 36,218 calls from the general public, almost half of which were for exhibitions involving children. Only 3,960 cases were referred to the emergency room, allowing 32,358 consultations to be avoided.
Although toxicologist doctors are present at the Poison Control Centre, the front-line nurses handle approximately 90% of calls based on their expertise. The medical team therefore wanted the government to recognize the special status of nurses and put in place procedures to keep them.
Loss of staff
Currently, 22 nurses work at the Center antipoison du Québec out of an ideal of 27. Four positions are posted, but no one has applied for two of them. In addition, 18 nurses from the center have recently applied for other positions in the CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale.
These departures were of great concern to the team of medical specialists, who worried about losing the considerable experience of the nurses and having to retrain dozens of employees.
Indeed, when a nurse is hired at the Poison Control Centre, she must follow an intensive two-month training course which involves knowledge of different substances such as plants, mushrooms and medication. The nurses are also trained to use the software and the 300 chemical guides.
The nurses then receive continuing education every six weeks, through pairing with another staff member. Nurses are also encouraged to obtain official certification in the United States, since there is no official Canadian training.