Quebec wants to hire up to 5,000 retired nurses or medical students via the “I contribute!” to answer the many calls to the Info-Santé 811 line.
Launched at the beginning of November, the line allowing parents to obtain a pediatric medical appointment by joining 811 “works very well”, said Thursday the Minister of Health Christian Dubé, before entering the Blue Salon of the National Assembly.
On Wednesday, Info-Santé received 10,000 calls, half of which were for the new service. “These are people who will not go to the emergency room,” he rejoiced.
“But we lack staff to answer the phone,” continued Mr. Dubé. The program “I contribute! ” implanted during the pandemic to lend a hand to the health network is still functional, he underlined. “I invite nurses who are retired or who are in private agencies who would like to come and help us in the coming weeks. »
The Minister would like to set up a virtual waiting room that would make it possible to avoid waiting on the phone by leaving a callback number. “But for that, I have to be sure that a nurse will be able to call the patient back,” he said.
The situation in Quebec hospitals is “excessively difficult” with the trio of respiratory viruses circulating, said Christian Dubé. Due to COVID-19, the increasing spread of influenza and the respiratory syncytial virus which particularly affects children, the next few weeks will be tough, he added.
The national director of public health, Dr. Luc Boileau, will provide an update on the health situation at the beginning of next week. Since last week, the flu vaccination has been offered free of charge to all Quebecers, recalled Minister Dubé.
With the opening of specialized nurse practitioner clinics, the pediatric 811 line is part of the measures put in place to reduce the pressure on Quebec hospitals. They were proposed by the new crisis unit, made up in particular of doctors, nurses, managers from the health network and officials from the Ministry of Health and Social Services.
Further details will follow.