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CTV News
an hour ago
- Business
- CTV News
Quebec announces $36 million to improve ambulance services in rural areas
Ambulances are shown outside a hospital in Montreal, Sunday, April 18, 2021. (Graham Hughes / The Canadian Press) The Legault government is allocating $35.8 million to improve access to pre-hospital emergency services, particularly ambulance coverage, in rural areas. Health Minister Christian Dubé made the announcement on Thursday, saying the government's goal is to offer 'the best possible pre-hospital coverage to Quebecers in all regions.' Starting this year, Quebec will add 35,000 hours of ambulance coverage 'based on regional realities and observed needs.' Part of the funds will be used to convert shift schedules — during which paramedics must remain available 24 hours a day to respond to emergency calls — to hourly schedules. Quebec is also tripling funding for the first responder program, up from $11 million to $32.7 million for all regions. This announcement comes two weeks after the release of a report by Acting Auditor General Alain Fortin, which highlighted that half of Quebecers live in a municipality without first responder services. In these areas, 45 per cent of 'very urgent' calls are handled in more than 10 minutes. In rural areas, this proportion rises to 59 per cent, Fortin noted. In his report, the interim auditor general reiterated the importance for municipalities to have a first responder service, since in 73 per cent of cases, first responders arrive before paramedics to provide basic care. The Ministry of Health and Social Services hopes to increase coverage of the population from 50 per cent to 80 per cent by 2028. It points out that some 50 municipalities have expressed an interest in setting up a new first responder service. 'The amount in question is for both ambulances and first responders. Now it's up to each region ... to decide whether it wants to get on board. Not everyone has the resources to do so,' Dubé said at a news conference at the National Assembly. 'This major announcement ... shows that we are continuing to invest heavily in improving pre-hospital emergency services across Quebec,' he also said in a news release. As announced earlier this year, the government is maintaining its commitment to install 450 new defibrillators over the next year. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French June 5, 2025.
Global News
6 hours ago
- Health
- Global News
Quebec announces $36M to improve pre-hospital services
The Legault government is releasing $35.8 million to improve access to pre-hospital emergency services, notably by increasing ambulance coverage. Health Minister Christian Dubé made the announcement Thursday, stating that the government's objective is to offer 'the best possible pre-hospital coverage to Quebecers in all regions.' Quebec will therefore add, starting this year, 35,000 hours of ambulance coverage service 'according to regional realities and observed needs.' Part of the money will also be used to convert shift schedules, during which paramedics must remain available 24 hours a day to respond to emergency calls, to hourly schedules. Get weekly health news Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday. Sign up for weekly health newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Furthermore, Quebec is tripling funding for the first responder program, increasing it from $11 million to $32.7 million for all regions. This announcement comes two weeks after the tabling of a report by interim Auditor General Alain Fortin, which highlighted that half of Quebecers live in a municipality without first responder services. Story continues below advertisement In these areas, 45 per cent of 'very urgent' calls are answered in more than 10 minutes. In rural areas, this proportion rises to 59%, noted Mr. Fortin. In his report, the interim auditor general reiterated the importance for a municipality to have a first responder service, since, in 73% of cases, they arrive before the paramedics to provide basic care. The Ministry of Health and Social Services hopes to increase population coverage from 50 to 80 percent by 2028. It notes that some fifty municipalities have expressed interest in establishing a new first responder service. 'This major announcement, which will ultimately triple investment in first responder services, demonstrates that we continue to invest massively to improve pre-hospital emergency services across Quebec,' Minister Dubé said in a press release. As announced earlier this year, the government is also maintaining its commitment to install 450 new defibrillators over the next year.
Montreal Gazette
6 hours ago
- Health
- Montreal Gazette
Quebec bolsters ambulance services in the regions with $36 million
The Legault government announced on Thursday it is directing $35.8 million to increase access to pre-hospital emergency care — specifically by improving access to ambulance services in the province's regions. Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé said that the objective is to offer 'the best pre-hospital care possible to Quebecers in all regions.' The province intends to add 35,000 hours of ambulance service this year 'according to regional realities and observed requirements.' Part of the money will be used to convert shift schedules — during which paramedics are expected to be available 24 hours a day to respond to emergency calls — to hourly schedules. The province will also triple financing of first responders services in the regions to $32.7 million from $11 million. The announcement comes two weeks after Quebec's auditor-general reported that half of Quebec's population lives in municipalities without first responder services. In these regions, it takes more than 10 minutes to deal with 45 per cent of 'very urgent' calls, a proportion that rises to 59 per cent in rural areas. The Health Ministry hopes to increase ambulance coverage from 50 per cent to 80 per cent by 2028. It also intends to honour a pledge to install 450 new defibrillators in public areas over the next year.
CBC
6 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Quebec doctors say new bill will drive them away, threaten patient access
Doctors at a medical clinic in Kingsey Falls, a town in central Quebec, say they're contemplating closing their clinic and pivoting out of family practice — or Quebec altogether — if a bill allowing the province to regulate how physicians are paid is adopted as it is written. Bill 106, tabled earlier this month, would link up to 25 per cent of physicians' pay to their performance in an effort to get them to take on more patients. But in a statement posted to their social media, doctors at the Kingsey Falls medical clinic said the new rules would impose unattainable performance targets on them and reduce their ability to deliver quality care to patients. "We can't take on more patients if we don't have more resources or a system that's more efficient and productive to be able to take good care of them," said Dr. Isabelle Lemieux, who works at the clinic. As legislative hearings on the bill run their course, the clinic and others in the province are warning their patients that they risk losing their family doctor — despite Article 4 of the bill suggesting otherwise — and are asking them to write to their local MNA. The clinic has since deleted its statement and letter templates from its Facebook page. Quebec's College of Physicians (CMQ) has condemned these types of communications after being confronted about them by Health Minister Christian Dubé during Tuesday's hearing. "They transmit false information," wrote the college's president Mauril Gaudreault in a statement to Facebook. In the halls of the National Assembly Thursday morning, Dubé said the college did the right thing by adding that "what is important are the interests of the patients." But the debate rages on as doctors continue to voice their concerns, some echoed by the CMQ, about the bill's impact. WATCH | Why doctors are upset: Why Quebec doctors are upset with the government's proposed changes to their salaries 2 days ago Duration 2:46 Gaudreault argues the bill and its title — An Act mainly to establish the collective responsibility and the accountability of physicians with respect to improvement of access to medical services — make explicit the government's attempt to place the burden of a well-functioning health-care system squarely on the shoulders of doctors. What the bill changes — and what its blind spots may be The bill proposes a mixed model of remuneration for family doctors: capitation payments (an annual flat rate per patient based on their level of vulnerability), an hourly rate for time spent with patients and a fee-for-service. Part of their pay would also be tied to their collective performance based on targets set at the provincial and local levels. Those targets aren't specified in the bill but could look like reducing waiting times and absenteeism rates as well as increasing quality of care, said Dubé at Tuesday's hearing, adding the targets would need to be discussed. The president of the Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec (FMOQ), which represents family doctors, called the bill "catastrophic," warning that it will negatively affect accessibility to doctors. "We need to stop evaluating the work of family doctors solely based on their clinical appointments because we're neglecting a whole lesser-known section of their work," said Dr. Marc-André Amyot. He addressed the committee with a pair of family doctors who said the new rules would penalize the doctors whose colleagues chose to take on less work for mental health reasons or whose workload is underrepresented by Quebec's health insurance board's (RAMQ) compensation system. "I work full-time all year, but the RAMQ thinks I work for barely four months," Dr. Benoît Heppell told the committee studying Bill 106, explaining that the hours spent training, doing administrative work or teaching aren't taken into account. Heppell said the government's targets need to be tied to a promise of more resources. Currently, there are 1.5 million Quebecers who don't have a family doctor, according to Dubé. "It's not about working harder, it's about working differently," he told the FMOQ. For Roxane Borgès Da Silva, a professor at Université de Montréal's school of public health, the shift to capitation pay is good news. She says it encourages more collaboration and delegation between doctors and other health-care professionals and takes away the incentive for doctors to reach a high volume of appointments. For example, under the proposed model, a physician wouldn't lose compensation for an appointment if a patient registered to them is treated by a nurse or physiotherapist instead. Setting performance targets could help counter the shift away from productivity, said Da Silva, but they need to be the "right" ones and should be for all health-care personnel and not just doctors as the bill proposes.
Montreal Gazette
29-05-2025
- Health
- Montreal Gazette
Don't send letters about Bill 106 to patients, Quebec's college of physicians tells doctors
Quebec Politics By Quebec's college of physicians is demanding an end to any communications sent to patients about proposed legislation that could change how doctors are paid. The Collège des médecins issued a statement on social media platforms late Wednesday afternoon after reports of patients receiving letters from their doctors or clinics about Bill 106. It also notes its invesgations department is aware of the situation. 'The professional order responsible for protecting the public strongly condemns these publications, which focus on limited access to one's physician or abandoning part of its clientele,' said the order's president, Mauril Gaudreault. 'They convey false information and use personal information intended solely for the provision of health care.' Some patients were reportedly told access to their family physician could be compromised if Bill 106 — which is the subject of committee hearings at the National Assembly — becomes law. Under the plan, 25 per cent of a doctor's salary could be tied to various performance objectives in an effort to see them take on more patients. The Collège des médecins is among the organizations that have spoken out against the bill, saying it 'strongly disagrees' with the proposed renumeration model. It is also concerned doctors will spend less time with patients if they have to meet quotas. Earlier Wednesday, Health Minister Christian Dubé and opposition parties roundly criticized the move by some doctors and clinics. 'Honestly, sending letters to your patients, I find it skirts the ethical border,' Liberal health critic André Fortin said.
