“We have a problem in the organization of care and in the entry point into the health system”

“In Quebec, there are 122 general practitioners per 100,000 inhabitants. We have 800 specialized nurse practitioners ”, explains Régine Laurent, nurse. “Next door in Ontario there are 116 general practitioners per 100,000 population, but there are 3,500 nurse practitioners. What I want to illustrate by this is that we have a problem in the organization of care and in the entry point into the health system. ”

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M^me Laurent reacts to the statement of Prime Minister François Legault, who signaled his intention to tighten the screws to family doctors.

“It was in Bill 20. It was planned that if we could not achieve the objectives, so that everyone has a family doctor, if we found that there were doctors who could do so. more, there would be this reduction in salary which could go up to 30%. “

The solution, she says, is not to force family physicians to take on more patients, but rather to reorganize the health care system.

“Why does the front door of the system have to be by a doctor?” She asks. “In Ontario, where I have family, when I tell them I have a doctor’s appointment, they screw up because they think I’m really sick. There are people who spend years being followed by a nurse practitioner, and it works. It frees up the doctor’s time, who draws on his expertise when we really need a doctor. “

M^me Laurent takes as an example the SABSA clinic, located in Quebec, which opened its doors in 2014. This clinic is run by a team of nurses and other workers, and is managed by Isabelle Têtu, nurse practitioner.

“We put money to demonstrate that it was possible to take charge”, says M^me Laurent. “This clinic is run by a team and there is a specialized nurse practitioner. It’s a walk-in clinic, and it’s going well. And when there is the need to see a doctor, M^me Stubborn has a partner physician to whom she can refer patients. “

M^me Laurent says that as long as we do not play in the organization of care and that we do not involve nurse practitioners, we will put in money or sanctions that will not work.

“We must stop the hospital-centrism and the medical-centrism in our health system”, she concludes.