The new policy on pre-hospital services that Quebec intends to table in the coming weeks should “please” paramedic ambulance technicians, said Monday the Minister of Health Christian Dubé, at a time when the shortage of labor worries more more in the middle.
Posted at 4:42 p.m.
“We are going to table a prehospital policy in the coming weeks that will please the stakeholders, I think,” he offered during a press conference held in Montreal in the afternoon.
Mr. Dubé at the same time reiterated that he plans to create a “professional order” for paramedics, in order to solve certain problems more easily. It also 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 need.
“It’s very possible. Artificial intelligence makes it possible. But we will start by walking with the GAP. […] The issue is that it is more delicate. When you call 911, because you don’t want it to be silly for too long before being redirected, ”he said on this subject.
This all comes as Urgences-santé reached an “agreement in principle” with Quebec last week, recalled Christian Dubé, speaking of a “big release” which, he hopes, will make it possible to no longer watch behind. “All this will change a lot in the coming months,” insisted the minister again.
The next “difficult” years
For the head of service, management of operational teams and spokesperson for Urgences-santé, Stéphane Smith, it is clear that the next few years will be much more “difficult” for his teams, who are expected to face an increasing shortage of more marked. The main reason is that for the past few years, paramedics have to complete a three-year technique. Before, it only took one year to obtain a professional diploma.
“There is also the fact that we are seeing a much younger generation arrive, which tends to seek other diplomas and do two or three different jobs in their careers. And then, there is the strike which came to affect our shortage, because there were no internships that could be done,” adds Mr. Smith.
The latter had, however, warned in 2019, in an article by The Press, that Quebec could experience a significant shortage of paramedic ambulance technicians as early as 2022 if nothing were done to correct the situation. Already at the time, the organization was working on various solutions, including the integration of nurses into its Health Communication Center, in order to reassess certain calls, redirect patients to other services and thus avoid ambulance transport.
“Often, there are patients who call the ambulance, but who, in the end, would need a psychologist, for example”, illustrates the spokesperson, insisting on the fact that Urgences-santé would like to be able to focus on “urgent” calls, to “increase the survival rate”. “It would also often mean better care than in the emergency room, where there is also a shortage of staff,” he says.