Health Minister Christian Dubé predicts a ‘difficult’ summer in hospitals

The situation in Quebec’s healthcare network this summer will be similar to that of previous years, maintains Health Minister Christian Dubé, while admitting that the season will be “difficult” due to staff shortages and vacations.

Over 1,500 beds are expected to be closed this summer. That’s 115 fewer than last year. The network has a total of 17,000 beds.

Dubé assures us that reorganizations will be put in place in the event of service breakdowns.

He pointed out that the situation is complex, notably because there is still no agreement with the Fédération Interprofessionnelle de la Santé du Québec.

The Minister also indicated that Quebecers could turn to the Guichet d’accès à la première ligne (GAP), especially since the number of appointments has increased since the signing of the agreement with doctors last week.

“We could see that for next week we’re already up to 8,000 appointments. That’s encouraging,” said Dubé.

The Ministry of Health has “again asked each facility to communicate promptly with the public as soon as service reorganizations are planned, in order to ensure predictability. All issues will be dealt with locally in each facility, in order to give priority to local management. In this way, the solutions put in place will meet the specific needs of citizens in each region,” he adds.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews