Quebec vows to overhaul its beleaguered health-care system by 2025

The Quebec government unveiled its plan to overhaul the health-care system Tuesday, which includes ending mandatory overtime in hospitals, delegating tasks to the private sector as well as giving more power to nurses, pharmacists and paramedics.

When it comes to mandatory overtime, the province wants to “eliminate once and for all this practice in the day-to-day management of operations.”

It plans to do that by boosting the number of health-care professionals with a recruitment blitz and speeding up training that is already underway.

The government will also collaborate with private medical clinics to reduce waiting lists for surgeries. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to longer wait times for operations in the province.

This prong of the plan is already in place with about 15 private clinics, according to the government. It says all costs are covered by the state.

“Thousands of patients waiting for more than six months for a minor one-day surgery were able to be operated on without it costing them a penny,” reads the province’s document outlining the plan.

That represents “14 per cent of the total surgical activity currently performed in Quebec.” The government says it hopes to increase this figure.

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The Quebec government also wants to prevent family doctors and emergency rooms from being overwhelmed by patients. Under the reform, it plans to expand the to expand the powers of specialized nurses, pharmacists and paramedics.

With those powers, those health-care professionals would be able to “direct the patient to the right care and the right professional instead of systematically sending them to the emergency room.” The creation of a new professional order is also on the table.

More to come. 

— with files from Global News’ Kalina Laframboise