Pontiac MNA André Fortin, also health critic for the official opposition, is calling for members of the province’s health and social services commission to visit the Outaouais so they can see for themselves what, in a May 13 press release, he called a “catastrophic” staffing situation.
“The healthcare system is no longer sustainable. Some of our hospitals are dysfunctional, and patient lives will be put in danger over the summer period if something is not done,” Fortin told THE EQUITY Monday, referring to the growing crisis caused by significant labour shortage across the region’s healthcare network.
Fortin said the situation is dire, noting, as an example, how in some regions of Quebec, the wait time for a mammogram is as little as three weeks, while in the Outaouais, the wait time is over a year.
Fortin is not the only one sounding the alarm.
Last month, high-ranking doctors from the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de l’Outaouais (CISSSO) warned the government of dangerous breaks in service if no action is taken toward improving service levels.
An open letter to Quebec health minister Christian Dubé, written by Dr. Christal Dionne, head of the CISSSO Emergency Department, and published in Le Devoir, detailed these challenges.
“Our region’s proximity to Ontario is causing a massive exodus of health workers to a province that offers far more attractive pay and working conditions,” wrote Dr. Dionne. “It is no longer possible for our teams to compete against our neighbour.”
Fortin said the Quebec government’s incentive to keep healthcare workers in the region by offering bonuses to workers who stay at the Gatineau and Hull hospitals is only making matters worse for rural hospitals.
“It has . . . pushed people from all the rural hospitals to apply to jobs in the city in order to get bonuses,” Fortin explained. “The government is creating additional problems which will lead to our rural hospitals losing staff and not being able to give care.”
Fortin will make his formal pitch on Tuesday at the assembly’s next sitting.
“The healthcare committee members have to hear the reality of the situation and some of the solutions of the healthcare professionals who work in our hospitals on a daily basis,” Fortin said.
“Pontiacers and people from across the region don’t deserve to have their lives put at risk.”
