Minister Christian Dubey wants health to sound good in Quebec

A year after presenting his health plan, Minister Dube tabled his Bill 15, a massive 308-page document containing 1,180 articles and entitled “An Act to Make the Health and Social Services System More Effective.”

The bill confirms the creation of Santé Québec, the agency responsible for activities related to the health system.

In doing so, the said organization will become the sole employer in the health and social service network; So this will be the end of CISSSs and CIUSSSs, which will be integrated into this new structure.

It is estimated that 30% to 40% of the ministry’s 1,200 employees will relocate to the new employer in the context of the creation of Sainte-Québec.

The bill provides for standardizing human resource management in the network and expanding the participation of medical professionals.

” A state of health is simply not an option. »

All professionals in the network must contribute to the care of the populationsaid the minister.

The government hopes for better coordination within the network and delivery of better care and services in each region. He also believes he can emphasize local decision-making by appointing institutional medical directors.

Sainte-Québec, a single employer

With Santé Québec, the government proposes to do what many reports have recommended over the past 30 years: unbundling the functions and orientations of the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS).

Santé Québec will be governed in the same model as government agencies, meaning it will have a president and CEO and a board of directors.

Apart from organizing patient services, the new company will be responsible for personnel and will become a single employer for all employees in the health sector. Currently, there are 34 different employers in the network, so there are many human resource management systems.

Seniority lists of employees will also be attached. As for union certificates, they will decrease from 136 to four.

The government promises changes will be made in line with collective agreements and in cooperation with unions, hoping to make the network more attractive to nursing staff.

For example, Quebec considers it not normal that a nurse with 20 years of experience and living in Montreal cannot move to another region without losing her benefits, including her seniority.

By doing so, the government aims to create a bank of mobile workers to help areas affected by labor shortages.

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Managers close to the field

In addition to the human resources component, Quebec says it prefers local management, meaning closer to the field and teams, an aspect raised during the pandemic. Some establishments do not actually employ a manager or even have an on-site presence.

The government intends to remedy this situation by redeploying local managers.

The bill provides for the appointment of facility medical directors and regional medical directors for both family medicine and specialty medicine in each region of the province. Quebec hopes this will ensure that doctors are more involved in local care management.

The same Social Services Minister Lionel Cormant explained that for social services, a Director of Social Services and a Professional Council for Social Services will be established in all agencies.

And the government says the bill introduces new requirements for doctors to restore balance between the responsibilities of family doctors and those who specialize in the population. Mr. Dubey said. guilty feeling.

An interdisciplinary committee will also have the mandate to assess pathways of care and their organization in institutions under the responsibility of Santé Québec.

Increase user satisfaction

The bill also provides an obligation to measure the level of user satisfaction, which the government says will make it possible to adapt services according to the results obtained.

A National User Group will be formed; It is responsible for harmonizing the practices of the various user groups within the organizations and making recommendations to the Board of Directors of Santé Québec.

Two weeks ago, the minister announced a pilot project to gauge satisfaction levels in emergencies using a new indicator, raising the ire of the opposition.

Another objective put forward behind the bill is to create a more integrated complaints process by creating the post of National Complaints Commissioner. Users are prompted and told that corrections should be made when unacceptable situations occur.

This is not normalMr. Dubey said, Some complaints never reach us.

It will also promise provincial restructuring of user groups, which on Wednesday recalled the importance of this watchdog for users’ rights. Users’ and residents’ groups are mandatory in all establishments, facilities and all work across Quebec.We read in a press release.