Personnel shortage could affect health services, warns Quebec – Montreal health minister | The Canadian News

Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé warned that health services across the province could be affected due to staff shortages.

“In the coming days, the next few weeks, … we may have to make major cuts in services or reorganize services,” he told reporters in Quebec City.

One region that is likely to see changes in the near future is Abitibi.

As an example, Dubé said that the emergency room in Senneterre could close, forcing residents to seek care in Val d’Or.

“We prefer to close it for certain hours, then have it open 24 hours a day with people who are totally exhausted,” he said. “I’d rather redirect services in certain areas than have services that are not safe for employees or patients.”

Dubé called it a planned reorganization of services.

Dubé was also concerned about how staff shortages and the fourth wave of the pandemic could affect the province’s waiting lists for surgery. In June, Quebec outlined its goal of eliminating the backlog to pre-pandemic levels by March 2023. So far, he said, the province remains on the right track.

In places like Montreal, however, with a growing number of COVID-19 cases, the impact on the health network will be closely monitored.

Dubé implored those who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 to get the vaccine, saying it can make a difference by reducing waiting lists.

“Those who are not vaccinated are taking the place of the people who should be in the hospital for their surgery,” he said.

Dubé, however, admitted that the staff shortage is exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic preceding the health crisis.

In the Abitibi region, as in much of western Quebec, there is stiff competition from Ontario, where nurses are better paid.

Dubé quoted Prime Minister François Legault as saying the province faces a shortage of 4,000 nurses in the public health network.

Dubé said the government is looking to hire nurses from the private sector and agencies, as well as others who have retired.

She said she hopes the nurses will return because the nurses union (FIQ) ratified the collective bargaining agreement over the summer and the government is seeking to decrease mandatory overtime, which was a key issue in the negotiations.

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