The Parti Québécois (PQ) presented its plan on Monday to “straighten out the health network” in view of the next elections, by betting, among other things, on the transformation of CLSCs into “real local clinics” and more home care.
In total, the sum of this plan would amount to 7 billion dollars, half of which would come from new investments. One of the key measures consists of making CLSCs the “gateway to the health network”. “We will be able to welcome people whether for minor emergencies, but also for mental health problems”, explained MP Joël Arseneau, spokesperson for the PQ in terms of health, in a press briefing. A universal psychotherapy service will also be set up.
If it is brought to power, the PQ undertakes to “at least triple” the number of hours offered in home care, said PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon. According to Joël Arseneau, it “is always more profitable for the State and much more interesting for the user to have services at home”.
In addition to seniors, access to home care is aimed in particular at people with a loss of autonomy, as well as those living with a handicap, an intellectual disability or an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Make the public network “the best employer”
The PQ also wants to make the public network “the best employer in Quebec”, in particular by abolishing compulsory overtime (TSO).
In order to unclog the public network, one of the proposed measures is to allow health professionals to perform medical acts reserved for doctors. ” [Ces professionnels] are extremely competent people who are stuck in a kind of vicious circle where they are always dependent on the doctor, which slows down the care procedures,” argued Camille Pellerin-Forget, physiotherapist at the CISSS de l’Outaouais.
The use of private placement agencies would also be abolished. “How can we straighten out the public health system by investing in employment agencies that vampirize the system? asked Mr. Arseneau.
The Parti Québécois announcement was made in the company of three candidates from the health network. They are Camille Pellerin-Forget, Dr. Lucien Rodrigue, emergency doctor at the Hôtel-Dieu de Québec, and Sylvie Tanguay, assistant head nurse in pediatrics at the CIUSSS de l’Estrie-CHUS.