The medical staffing situation at the Argenteuil Health and Social Services Centre

The medical staffing situation at the Argenteuil Health and Social Services Center is currently very difficult. This situation is taken seriously by management and the Board of Directors; a set of solutions is in preparation. However, it is certain that service adjustments will be needed in the short term.

Remember that this is largely due to the departure of doctors. Three doctors left earlier this year (sickness and the event in the ER). Since then, a doctor submitted his resignation for the month of May and three others for June 15. As it became impossible for the medical team in place to maintain continuity of cluster care (5 more intensive care beds), these beds have been temporarily closed since April 5. This decision was taken with a view to offering the best care to those in need, and not, as a newspaper article suggested, in order to make cuts or because of a lack of collaboration among doctors. From that moment, a transfer corridor was created with the Hôtel-Dieu de Saint Jérôme, which was able to support our ICU patients.

In facing this situation, several possible solutions are either implemented or under preparation by management and the medical team.

Thus, for several weeks, some measures have been granted by the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux to encourage doctors to come and lend a hand and support our current physicians. Both for the emergency as well as hospitalization, constant efforts are being made to invite and obtain the services of replacement physicians from the region and outside.

Serious steps are underway in collaboration with l’Agence régionale, to get help from neighboring hospitals, particularly for the coming months. The goal of these approaches is to have enough doctors in place to maintain the current services in the Emergency Unit and acute care (44 beds open). Should we be unable to achieve this, which is not what we wish for, it would be necessary to temporarily reduce the number of beds. No final scenario has been adopted for this, but the number of beds would be maintained around thirty, including beds for emergency overflow, and not 18 as was suggested.

Various other measures are in place or under implementation, particularly in support of care teams and to assist in recruiting new medical staff.

It is certain that such a situation is very difficult and generates a lot of concern among physicians, staff members in the population. The context in which a community-based center such as the Argenteuil Health and Social Services Center operates is obviously more fragile: rather limited resources, medical clinical and administrative teams, also very limited, but a clientele with increasingly important needs.

However, all agree that the Argenteuil Health and Social Services Center and its hospital are relevant and necessary in the region. On many occasions, the Board, l’Agence régionale and the Health and Social Services Minister have reiterated that the hospital is here to stay and develop for the population of Argenteuil and surrounding areas.

The short-term challenge is to implement the required solutions to maintain current services. In the medium term, it is to ensure the conditions (teams, resources, modes of operation, attractive environment) to maintain and develop our mission of general care while ensuring the continuity and quality of care.

This is what the Board of Directors, medical staff and management is working towards.

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