(Quebec) Christian Dubé will authorize the opening of surgery centers awaiting permits, with the exception of aesthetic clinics, if their activities make it possible to tackle waiting lists. The Minister of Health admits that he lacked clarity in his directives after his ministry sent several notices of intent to refuse a license.
Minister Christian Dubé explained on Tuesday that he had “perhaps not been clear enough” with the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS), which at the start of the year sent about fifteen notices of intention to refuse permits to private surgery centres.
“I’m going to keep it simple: I wanted us to limit private clinics if they weren’t in our goals. […] We cannot afford to lose staff, nurses, for aesthetic clinics, ”illustrated the Minister of Health on his arrival at the parliamentary committee in Quebec.
On the other hand, if they make it possible to reduce the lists in the specialties where there is a long wait, these clinics should receive the green light from the ministry, indicated Mr. Dubé. “I was surprised that clinics that were supposed to open and were supposed to help us with our waiting lists didn’t get their permits, so we clarified [the situation] in the last few days,” he said. precise.
La Presse reported on Tuesday that the Westmount Surgical Institute, a multidisciplinary surgical center, has been waiting for its license for 18 months. The clinic is one of those that received a notice of intent to refuse in January.
However, the brand new infrastructures will allow the practice of several types of day operations covered by the RAMQ, such as orthopedic, urology, ENT and ophthalmology procedures. These are also four of the five specialties where the number of patients waiting for an operation is the highest, according to the MSSS dashboard.
Although the final decision rests with the minister, Christian Dubé explained that a committee of the MSSS where the Federation of Medical Specialists of Quebec (FMSQ) is also present must issue a recommendation. Mr. Dubé added that he does not know “where this kind of imbroglio fell” between his intentions and the notices sent.
The files of all the clinics that have received a negative notice of intent will be reviewed in the coming weeks. Christian Dubé also intervened last February to unblock a surgery center project in Saint-Jérôme. In this case, construction work had to be suspended due to permit delays.
Various reasons can be given for the refusal to grant a permit, such as the availability of resources, the “complementarity of supply” in the sector or the vocation desired by the clinic.