As the new year begins, more than 50,000 health care workers are absent, according to the Quebec Minister of Health and Social Services. Among them, 20,000 are infected and as many are exhausted. The number of hospitalizations has been increasing since mid-December 2021 with the presence of the Omicron variant and load shedding is at a frightening level. The hospital is overflowing or, as Sol said several decades ago, the hospital is sick. How can we provide care in the current turmoil? This is not the time to procrastinate between private and public. Private medical clinics are helping to keep the ship afloat.

For minor injuries : innovate and relieve the system

“Starting in the spring of 2020, the telemedicine service took on considerable scope,” explains Dr. LeBlanc. “It’s a function that already existed, but it became essential to avoid travel and contagion. When it all started, people stayed home, in panic mode: for three months, there was a drastic drop in traffic. Except that health problems grew in scale. So we had to find a solution to continue consultations.”

With telemedicine, prescription renewals are easier to do, as well as several treatments that do not require a physical exam: “Colds and flu, minor one-off problems, family medicine follow-ups and mild cases of COVID can be treated at home without going to the hospital,” she explains.

Of course, the congestion of the public system is not new, but we must leave the way open for real emergencies. “Half of our clients have a family doctor, but they are simply not able to see him when they need it!” Not to mention those who do not have one… In Quebec, the average wait time before being taken care of by a family doctor is nearly 600 days, and more than four years in Montreal, according to the 2021 credit study. “We offer an appointment within 48 hours,” emphasizes the entrepreneur.

Faster specialized services

To see one of the 25 types of specialists (psychologists, dermatologists, gastroenterologists, pulmonologists, oncologists, etc.), the waiting lists are long in the public sector, around 324 days, according to the most recent data from the Ministry of Health and Social Services. There are currently nearly 600,000 requests pending.

However, private clinics bring together general practitioners and specialists, nursing staff, and often annexes to perform certain tests, such as a laboratory for blood tests. At Leblanc Savaria, there is also a gynecology and obstetrics department, COVID-19 screening, and psychology for children and adults, among others. “Mental health makes up 20% of our services. Right now, anxiety is latent; we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg. People are in resilience mode, but they are exhausted. This part of our work is going to explode in the very near future, and we are going to have to respond, right away.”

By working collaboratively, access to care is improved. “This allows us to stay ahead of the system and offer services more quickly. Like any company, we maintain business relationships with our partners. We can speed up scans or ultrasounds, and not have to redo exams that are outdated when the wait times are too long.”

The current load shedding in hospitals is leading to the postponement of appointments and minor surgeries, considered non-urgent. In the midst of the crisis, the Government of Quebec has entered into two-year agreements with private clinics to carry out these procedures, explained journalists Daniel Boily, David Gentile and Thomas Gerbet in two articles published on the Radio-Canada website in February 2021 and January 2022.

Rehumanizing care

“Our mandate is to provide fast and efficient services, empathetic and quality care. That’s what patients are willing to pay for.” Dr. LeBlanc worked in the public sector for a few years as a family physician and emergency physician before turning to the private sector. “I saw major gaps, the system hasn’t been doing well for a while, and the working conditions are deplorable.” Marie Andrée LeBlanc advocates for humane, preventive and holistic medicine.

Since 2009, she has been at the head of three branches in Blainville, Mont-Tremblant and Laval. Fifteen doctors and five nurses take care of 30,000 patients. “You can’t make up good medical secretaries, they are invaluable! Without them, there are no appointments, they are as essential as our nursing staff.”

What is the challenge of the day? "Staff. If there are any missing, everything can collapse." The pandemic is the last straw. It weakens the already unstable foundation on which nurses, doctors and orderlies, in both the public and private sectors, dance, disjointed and tired.

How to unrust a two-tier system and ensure a more peaceful marriage? For some, like the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec, a union organization with 75,000 members, the solution lies in the public sector, one hundred percent. For others, it is the private sector that ensures the quality and speed of care. And there are third-party avenues, like subsidizing the private sector to reduce costs. In all cases, the accessibility of care, its efficiency and its universality remain essential. One thing is certain: we must stand up in the emergency, hand in hand.