Montreal parents call for return of One Call, One Appointment hotline

After Vivien Carli was not able to find a clinic to treat her 10-month-old son, Lucas who had a persistent fever, she was forced to bring him to the Montreal Children’s Hospital ER.

What followed was a 16-hour wait and her son being diagnosed with a mild ear infection. It’s an experience Carli says would have been avoided if the “One Call, One Appointment” hotline created last September by The Regional Department of General Medicine was still available.

“The pediatric emergency rooms are overloaded and struggling. We know this service had an impact… please bring it back. We need it now,” said Carli, who with the support of other parents is petitioning to bring back the hotline. More than 1,800 have signed so far.

“[The hotline] completely changed the game,” she said. “Everyone had access to immediate care, to see in-person a physician or medical practitioner within hours and for non-emergency illnesses.”

Lucas Carli (Photo Courtesy: Vivien Carli)

With more than 45,000 appointments set up through the hotline in its seven months of operation, Dr. Michael Tran, a family doctor in the Montreal neighbourhood of Ahuntsic, says he saw firsthand how much it helped.

“Patients didn’t have to wait a long time. They were able to get timely care for their children,” says Tran.

“We have seen a lot of doctors participating — not replacing their regular clinic for this system, but adding extra hours to contribute more to the crisis and it has been a really positive point. Doctors are satisfied. Patients are satisfied.”

According to the Montreal Children’s Hospital, the service was a temporary measure in order to help reduce the strain on the pediatric system which was at overcapacity at the time. It’s something Carli argues hasn’t changed.

“I personally saw the pressure that the pediatric doctors and nurses are facing with this overload. They can’t do their work properly,” she said.

Both the Montreal Children’s Hospital and Sainte-Justine Hospital Emergency Rooms have seen up to 100% occupancy rates

The Regional Department Of General Medicine tells CityNews there are no plans to bring back the “One Call, One Appointment” hotline but say, “hospitals on the Island of Montreal are working closely with medical clinics to optimize appointment times for non-emergency health conditions.”

They add, the establishment of the Guichet d’accès à la première ligne (GAP), an online service that will allow patients to consult health-care professionals in a “reasonable time” will further assist in helping reduce the pressure of emergency rooms including pediatric hospitals.

The service is expected to be fully operational in Montreal by September and can be accessed through the Gouvernement du Quebec website. The service is only available to those without a family doctor, unlike Carli.

“We are taking up the space for urgent situations and it’s just not okay, but we have nowhere else to go,” she said.