Christian Dubé is considering the possibility of amending his Bill 15 to include greater accountability for health network chiefs. These should not only affect the ministry, but also the city council, which may also demand better results.

This formula works very well in Denmark, according to the minister, who traveled there to observe the functioning of the health network. Throughout the pyramid, cities were heavily involved in the management of hospitals. Here the board members report neither to elected community representatives nor to the population.

He gives the example of the Sûreté du Québec, which is already doing this exercise. Police officers regularly meet with the mayors to take stock. I say to myself, if it’s good for the police to have a connection with elected community officials, why shouldn’t we do the same in healthcare?

Very often, dissatisfied citizens have a reflex to turn to their MP or elected representative to complain. The proximity to the municipal level makes them a key player in improving care, believes Christian Dubé.

The mayor meets his citizens every day. He could tell [aux gestionnaires] : I hear that my family doctor group [GMF] is not open at the times it should be. Citizens would also like services to be held on Saturdayshe gives as an example.

” I can assure you that I am very, very open to the accountability that we included in Bill 15 going further, with greater involvement from our elected community officials. »

Christian Dubé makes that admission as Tuesday is due to return to work studying his healthcare reform. He wants to show the groups who criticize him for wanting to centralize decisions that the powers also lie in the hands of other important actors, closer to citizens and patients.

Local management, the key to success

This reflection is part of it proximity management which the minister intends to introduce. In his reform, he plans to restore the positions of hundreds of managers who were abolished by the Couillard government.

We followed him on a regional tour in Victoriaville where he met one of the newcomers proximity manager, less than ten days in office. Each facility will have its own. Its role is to serve as a liaison between the Hôtel-Dieu d’Arthabaska and the elected officials MRC.

She will play an outside role to listen to elected community officials and ask herself, “Is my hospital serving my fellow citizens well?”explains Mr Dubé.

His role internal will also be great according to him.

” Doctors or employees can walk past her in the hallway and talk to her about their appointments. She will be the interface to the staff and she can say: Do you have a problem? Go to such a person! Missing equipment? Here’s what we can do! A local manager takes care of this on site. We want to have this generalist on site who can find answers to questions. »

Coldly received by some nurses

During his visit to the Hôtel-Dieu d’Arthabaska, Christian Dubé was generally well received by the staff he encountered in the corridors. We followed him to the emergency room, where he asked patients how long they were waiting. He also went to the nurses on duty station, where most seemed to want to talk to him.

One of them stopped him when he arrived to ask him to go to the nurses Suffer, forced to work some weekends despite seniority. Some of them didn’t want to greet him, but he agreed to meet with others to hear their complaints.

Agreeing to disagree is part of his job, he says.

” Nobody said it would be easy. We demand a big change. A distinction must also be made between Bill 15 [sa réforme] and collective bargaining. I have worked in union circles in factories for about twenty years. This isn’t the first time this has happened to me. I think the most important thing is to keep the communication channel open. »