(Montreal) In its efforts to resolve the crisis affecting emergency departments in the province, Quebec announces the opening of two more Specialty Nursing (SNP) clinics in Montreal. A model that the Parti Québécois (PQ) wants to extend to all regions.
The new clinics are located at the Notre-Dame hospital and at the CLSC Verdun and have gradually started operating since Thursday, specifies the office of the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé.
Composed of specialized nurses, doctors and paramedics, the teams attend to patients who are diverted from the emergency room or the pediatric emergency number 811 through the first-line access desk.
These IPS clinics are open Monday to Friday from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Saturday and public holidays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The deployment of these facilities is one of the measures being taken by the Legault government’s crisis unit to free up Quebec’s emergency departments.
Last month, the crisis team led by Minister Dubé committed to opening two IPS clinics in Montreal over the next few weeks.
The cabinet of the elected CAQ claims to have exceeded this promise with a total of four confirmed clinics so far. One of these was recently inaugurated in east Montreal at CLSC Olivier-Guimond. Another was announced in Saguenay on Thursday.
Quebec promises to unveil a fifth clinic next week, Minister Dubé’s press secretary told The Canadian Press.
The PQ also calls for the multiplication of IPS clinics in all regions.
The sovereign formation calls on the Legault government to speed up its implementation and commends the expertise and practice of the nurses working there.
“Rather than sticking to the ‘private mini-hospital’ model, which risks further exploiting the resources of the public network in favor of the private network, we believe the deployment of autonomous IPS clinics at the CLSC across Quebec makes sense will promote emergency relief and facilitate access to the first line,” endorsed PQ health spokesman MP Joël Arseneau in a press release sent out on Friday morning.
The nursing teams practicing in these facilities can also provide medical care.
These include the ability to prescribe medications and diagnostic tests, schedule medical treatments, perform postnatal care without medical supervision, and diagnose diseases.
Nurses are also encouraged to work collaboratively with other health professionals.
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