Barrette and Charbonneau announce six ‘Super-Clinics’ for Laval
(TLN)
Quebec Health and Social Services Minister Gaétan Barrette and Minister Responsible for the Laval Region Francine Charbonneau announced on May 1 the creation of six super-clinics under the umbrella of CISSS de Laval, as well as the start of a pilot project to speed up appointment-making at the new facilities.
As part of the arrangement, six existing family medicine groups (GMF) have been authorized by the ministry to begin operating as super-clinics. The six facilities are GMF Concorde, GMF Centre Médical Laval, GMF Médi-Centre Chomedey, GMF Sainte-Dorothée, GMF Sainte-Rose and GMF Polyclinique Fabreville.
Longer hours
According to a statement from the government, the super-clinics will be tailored to Laval’s specific needs. Two of the facilities will be open 84 hours per week, while the others will operate 76 hours per week, allowing clients to have access 12 hours per day, seven days a week at two of the super-clinics.
The pilot project, Rendez-vous santé Québec (RVSQ), will allow clients to make appointments online with family doctors. The project was actually announced in early April. It is being implemented in Laval first, before possibly being deployed in areas of the province. RVSQ will be available in June at GMF Concorde, GMF Centre Médical Laval, GMF Médi-Centre Chomedey, GMF Sainte-Rose and GMF Polyclinique Fabreville.
Appointments made online
“With the implementation of these six super-clinics and the first phase of Rendez-vous santé Québec, the population of Laval is at the forefront of changes we want to make overall to the network as concerns access to family medicine services,” said Barrette.
“These are things we are doing in order to make services more accessible to most Quebecers. With this project we are offering a concrete option other than a hospital, notably during evenings and on weekends. I salute the doctors and other health professionals who decided to become involved in this project which should have a positive impact on the population.”
Another option, says Charbonneau
Charbonneau said: “These six super-clinics will complement the service offer which already included family medicine groups in Laval, thus offering one more point of entry to access services. All this demonstrates that our government listens to the population and that it proposes concrete solutions which are adapted to their needs. I am proud that this project saw the light of day here in Laval.”
According to the health and social services ministry, the super-clinics will offer service to patients who are not registered with a family doctor. Patients will be entitled to a medical consultation on the same day or the day after by calling at least in three hours before closing.
Doctors working within super-clinics must use an electronic medical dossier and must also be prepared to handle increased demand for medical services in cases such as flu outbreaks. Additional information on the super-clinics can be obtained on the web at this address: www.msss.gouv.qc.ca/presse.
