Urban health establishments will finally have until March 2025 to end their dependence on private agencies, Health Minister Christian Dubé announced on Thursday.
This change aims to “ensure a healthy transition for patients,” the minister said in a statement Thursday afternoon. This “will allow work to continue in order to, in particular, promote the recruitment of staff to strengthen the public network,” he added.
The final ban on the use of private agencies was initially scheduled for October 20, 2024. The deadline has now been extended to the end of March 2025.
In addition, certain urban care settings, including seniors’ residences, will be entitled to an additional six months, until October 19, 2025.
Large cities were to be the first to have to do without independent workers altogether. For medium-sized cities, the deadline was set for 2025, while more remote rural areas were given until 2026 to do so, deadlines that are not affected by the change.
The minister is facing strong pressure on this issue. A few days ago, the Fédération des médecins spécialisé du Québec (FMSQ) went to the media to urge him to push back the deadline until this fall.
The medical group feared that Montreal would suffer the repercussions of the reform, similar to the staff shortages experienced by the Côte-Nord, Outaouais and Abibiti-Témiscamingue regions this summer.
Let us recall that in these regions, recourse to health agencies is still permitted. It is following the entry into force of the maximum rates provided for by the reform that shortages have multiplied.
More details will follow.