Health Minister Christian Dubé on Thursday justified the use of private medical services by public bodies for their employees.
He was reacting to revelations that Hydro-Québec and Investissement Québec were paying for private medical teleconsultations so their employees could avoid wasting time trying to get an appointment in the public network.
The minister said he would not remove this privileged access to private services for employees of public organizations financed by taxpayers.
"These people have the right to have access," Dubé pleaded in a press scrum on the sidelines of the caucus of CAQ politicians in Laval.
"We have an access problem right now in (the public health network), we lack staff. If (these organizations) are able to offer social benefits to their employees, to have better access to a health system, why take away from them?"
Dialogue is among the companies offering private medical teleconsultation services, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Hydro-Quebec is reportedly paying between $2 and $4 million a year for their services, according to Le Journal de Québec, while Investissement Québec is paying much less.
"Access is a priority for me and these people (the private teleconsultation companies) who offer an excellent service, can continue," Dubé argued.
The minister suggested that the public network intends to offer the same type of teleconsultation through an application currently under development.
"We don't want to stop Dialogue services while we prepare. We won't cut a service for a few months," he said.
