The departure of Quebec’s national director of public health, Dr Horacio Arruda, arouses multiple reactions Tuesday morning. On Twitter, the College of Physicians of Quebec praised his work, while hoping that his successor will benefit “from the greatest independence in his opinions to ensure the support of the population.”
The Dr Arruda announced his resignation on Monday evening. The Dr Luc Boileau, until now CEO of the National Institute of Excellence in Health and Social Services (INESSS) should be appointed by interim Tuesday afternoon.
The testimonies highlighting the work accomplished by Dr Arruda have followed each other since this morning on social media. The Federation of General Practitioners of Quebec (FMOQ) thanked Dr Arruda for his commitment and wrote that the latter “has assumed very heavy and demanding responsibilities in a context of unprecedented crisis”. The mayoress of Montreal, Valérie Plante, also offered her thanks on Twitter.
The regional director of public health of Montreal, the DD Mylène Drouin, greeted on Twitter “the sincere commitment to the health of the population” of Dr Arruda. “What will remain of his service to the state is his honorable determination to defeat the COVID-19 virus during the worst crisis our province has ever known. With all my respect, obrigado Horacio! », Wrote the DD Drouin.
Earlier Tuesday, in an interview with Radio-Canada, the DD Drouin said that if offered to replace the Dr Arruda, “that would be a long personal reflection”, she said before adding: “It’s not no nor yes either”. Geriatrician David Lussier reacted quickly on Twitter by declaring: “Let’s propose to him now! It would be excellent ”.
Other names are already circulating as to who could take the place of Dr Arruda. That of the former president of Doctors Without Borders, the emergency pediatrician Joanne Liu, is mentioned by some. The DD Liu was notably involved in the management of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa in 2014. The Act respecting the Ministère de la Santé et des services sociaux provides, however, that a national public health director “must be a doctor holding a specialist’s certificate in community health”.