Pop-up clinic aims to improve access to healthcare in Montreal’s northern sector

Montreal’s first-ever mobile pediatric clinic is back in action in the city’s northern sector. It aims to help families with children who are five and under in low-income households that have limited access to medical care.

With back to school in full swing, the DocTocToc Mobile Pediatric Clinic’s founder Dr. Rislaine Benkelfat says the project will help break down silos within the healthcare network and eliminate barriers in access to care.

Dr. Benkelfat says the project is being developed in three phases, offering basic nursing care, support, and navigation service for families – all for free. The organization also offers psychosocial care and services to young children.

“The typical families that we see are the ones that usually face the most barriers, so some of the barriers may be just logistical,” Dr. Benkelfat explained.

READ MORE: DocTocToc: Making healthcare more accessible to children and families

Dr. Benkelfat, a pediatrician at the Montreal Children’s Hospital and assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at McGill University, explains she was inspired by similar initiatives in the United States. Common logistical barriers vary from travel, scheduling, and not knowing of existing services.

“Since living conditions are an integral part of the equation for achieving the best possible health, it is only natural to want to get closer to the environments in which these families live and to embed the approach in solid partnerships with local community organizations,” said Dr. Benkelfat.

“We are definitely aiming that this initiative is able to live on.”

Families will have two ways to access the clinic, either via walk-ins during predetermined times or through referrals from community organizations. Additionally, the clinic will offer regular follow-ups and psychosocial services, such as assistance with housing, food insecurity, or any other issues the family might need help with.

Laila Khattabi of Pause Famille, a community family organization that helps vulnerable and fragile families with children aged 0 to 12, says they often help refer families to the mobile clinic.

“We have a goal (like DocTocToc). Its mission is to break down the barrier to accessing health services and healthcare, and we meet families in their living environment,” Khattabi explained. 

Since July, the DocTocToc Mobile Pediatric Clinic has seen 72 children and made over 200 interventions with more than 50 families scheduled to be seen in the coming weeks. Dr. Benkelfat clarifies this is not available for everyone, as families must meet specific criteria like experiencing vulnerability factors.

“What we had projected for the upcoming years is that we would aim for about 300 families, 1,500 interventions a year. So it’s been only a little less than two months that we’re rolling out. So we’re very, very excited with the response from both the families and the community organizations,” she said.

Khattabi explained that those who are referred are new arrivals and people with work permits, adding that many don’t know they have access to various services. She notes they also help those strengthen their parenting skills through education, clothing and support.

“Our role as a living environment is to refer families to DocTocToc and especially when they don’t know where to go at the start,” Khattabi said.

“Outreach work is very important, as is the work that DocTocToc will do, as we do ourselves, by reaching out to families who are isolated, who have language barrier problems, who have problems with autonomy.”

Additionally, Dr. Benkelfat says within the next few weeks they will begin vaccination rollout as flu season is around the corner.

“We see that for the same reasons that they don’t access the other traditional services, some families are lost in the system and cannot get access to the vaccinations. Also, it’s a one-stop shop, so that’s also practical for the families,” Dr. Benkelfat explained.

The DocTocToc clinic will be in Montreal North, Saint-Laurent, Ahuntsic and Cartierville — with information available on their website.

“It’s crucial to making sure that we actually answer the right needs to the right families,” said Dr. Benkelfat.