Quebec to create seniors-focused mini-hospitals to relieve emergency room congestion
Halfway between a family medicine group (GMF) and a hospital, the Quebec government on Wednesday clarified its model for private mini-hospitals that will focus on the needs of seniors.
Two mini-hospitals, which will look like specialized geriatric clinics, will be set up in the Montreal and Quebec City regions.
Health Minister Christian Dubé's office confirmed on Wednesday that the government will allocate $35 million in public funds annually for each mini-hospital. Quebec's health insurance will cover free care and services for patients.
These facilities, which the CAQ hopes to deliver by 2025, will have an emergency room but no operating room. They will be equipped to meet the needs that most often affect seniors, but if the mini-hospital is the best place for a person's needs, people of all ages could be referred there.
The mini-hospitals will be open 24/7, but new patients will be admitted from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Teams will have diagnostic tests on-site and can keep patients under observation for short stays.
Patients admitted to mini-hospitals must be referred by a health-care professional from another facility or a referral via the front-line access desk, 811, 911, or ambulance attendants. The government aims to relieve hospital overcrowding of less urgent cases, specifically P4 and P5, as they are known in medical jargon.
The health minister's office has said it is aware of situations where elderly adults who arrive at emergency departments can spend several hours there, where they are sorted to the bottom of the priority scale. It's often not an appropriate environment for seniors and can even be hostile. The mini-hospital concept is designed to alleviate such situations.
These facilities will also have access for ambulances and paratransit.
The government said it might repeat the mini-hospital project elsewhere in Quebec.
"We have always said that the private network must complement the public network, and by joining forces as we are doing today, Quebecers will have better access to their health-care network," said Dubé in a press release.
Not everyone in the health-care sector welcomed the mini-hospital concept presented on Wednesday.
Health-care union the Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux (FSSS-CSN) voiced its displeasure in a post on X.
"Now the CAQ wants to reserve its future private hospitals for seniors. Minister Dubé just doesn't get it. We need to invest in the public sector. Studies show that the private sector is not good for health," the federation wrote.
The Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) pointed out on X that although 73 per cent of Quebecers support the concept of mini-hospitals, "the CAQ is backing away from its project and distorting it by creating large GMFs and minor emergency rooms for seniors instead. By visiting Quebec's emergency rooms, the CAQ would realize that emergency room waits affect all age groups."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 17, 2024. The Canadian Press health content is funded through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. The Canadian Press is solely responsible for editorial choices.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
CSE says it shared information on Chinese hacking of parliamentarians in 2022
While several MPs and senators say they were only recently made aware of China-backed hackers targeting them, the Communications Security Establishment, one of Canada's intelligence agencies, says it shared information about the incident with parliamentary officials in June of 2022.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
Eviction for landlord's use was legitimate, despite owners' partial move, B.C. court rules
A B.C. judge has upheld the eviction of a family from their North Vancouver townhouse, finding that the landlords did not take an unreasonable amount of time to move into the home after the tenants vacated it.
What's causing the catastrophic rainfall in Kenya?
The torrential rains and deadly floods that have hit Kenya since March have been some of the worst in the country in recent years. Here's how factors combined to create the deadly deluge.