Children's Clinic announces closure in Montreal

A Montreal clinic for children announced that it was abruptly closing after under 10 years in operation.

The Children's Clinic (TCC) located at 5100 Maisonneuve Boulevard West posted a notice on its Facebook page late Wednesday night that it will cease seeing patients on Friday, Jan. 26.

"Our clinic management is actively working with all the physicians and physician groups to ensure that they can transition their practices to other locations," the message read.

The McGill University Hospital Centre (MUHC) said it had no role in the clinic's closing, as the clinic was owned and operated by Brunswick Medial, which has declared bankruptcy. 

"To ensure that continuity, and despite having no direct oversight over the functioning of TCC, the MUHC facilitated the opportunity for MUHC physicians currently working at TCC to relocate to other clinics within the same building," said MUHC spokesperson Christine Bouthillier. "These clinics have indicated to the MUHC that they have ample room to accommodate all the MUHC pediatricians working at the TCC."

Doctors Beth Foster and Lucie Opatrny sent a letter to their colleagues saying that the MUHC asked the court to extend operations by several weeks at a hefty cost "to allow for alternate solutions to be found."

"The current clinic owner has attempted, so far unsuccessfully, to sell the clinic to a new owner, who would then enter into a rental agreement with the MUHC," the letter reads. "If there is no owner, then the MUHC cannot enter this rental agreement. Furthermore, despite efforts on the part of the MUHC to delay the closure, the MUHC has no control over the timeline, which is imposed by the court."

The Children's Clinic opened in 2015 to divert less complex patients away from the Montreal Children's Hospital.  

The post says that many physicians are looking to relocate the clinic's sister location in Pointe-Claire on the West Island.

The clinic said that clients' physicians will have complete access to medical records, and once those physicians are relocated, clients will be contacted.