Lachine Hospital Physicians Offer Out-of-Pocket Incentives to Reopen Emergency Room and ICU

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Doctors at Lachine Hospital are offering out-of-pocket incentives to respiratory therapists in hopes of reopening the hospital’s emergency room and intensive care unit, which have been closed since Nov. 7.

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Lachine Hospital Physician Council Chairman Dr. Paul Saba said he expects 80 to 90 of the hospital’s 100 physicians to pool their resources and offer three respiratory therapists a supplement of $ 15,000 per year each for two years. , for a total of $ 90,000.

Saba wants those who are interested to contact him personally to ensure that the McGill University Health Center does not transfer them to the center’s hospitals, which he said has been the case in the past due to critical care incentives paid for by the Quebec government. These incentives have not been offered to Lachine Hospital workers.

“We are supposed to be part of the same family,” Saba said. “We have sent letters. I believe that the will of the government will be needed to work with the MUHC to provide us with those salary incentives that are taking place at the center ”.

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In an email, the MUHC said that Lachine Hospital nurses and respiratory therapists receive the incentives to which they are entitled, which are determined by collective agreements between the unions and the government.

“The MUHC has not transferred nurses or RTs to downtown locations. However, candidates working at Lachine may decide to apply for open positions elsewhere and get the job, ”said spokeswoman Annie-Claire Fournier. “We respect your choice, as it is part of the collective agreements.”

The Quebec Ministry of Health also intervened.

“Workers at Lachine Hospital are eligible for the same premiums as workers at all facilities in the network,” a spokesman for the Ministry of Health said by email.

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The doctors’ initiative “is not governed by a collective agreement or ministerial decree, so we cannot condone the practice, which generates inequality between establishments,” added the spokesperson.
“Please be assured that we share the concern of the Lachine Hospital physicians and are working with MUHC to find solutions.”

In late October, the MUHC confirmed that the Lachine Hospital emergency room would be closed overnight and that the ICU would be closed completely as of November 7.

Saba said she was told the closure was due to a lack of respiratory therapists. For that reason, he and the other doctors at the hospital hope that this incentive will allow them to start offering critical services again.

“Our goal is to get this (emergency room) up and running as soon as possible,” Saba said. “Doctors would like to see it work. We didn’t want it to be partially closed on November 7 and we said this would be the wrong approach. “

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Saba said the hope is to reopen services to a clientele who doctors say desperately need access to the site.

Fahimy Saoud, an emergency room physician at the hospital, said visits to the emergency room during business hours have dropped dramatically since the partial closure began.

“We are well acquainted with our local French-speaking population and their financial difficulties in traveling to the city or to other neighboring hospitals,” Saoud said. “We know his health problems, respiratory disorders, especially at this time of year. We are concerned that they stay home and do not seek treatment even if they need it. “

Saba said respiratory therapists who are interested but cannot work full time can still apply and will be given part of the incentive, proportional to the number of hours they can work.

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