Quebec needs more nurses to answer flood of telehealth calls, health minister says | 24CA News

The province’s well being minister is pleading with certified nurses, asking them to enroll and assist to the 811 service, saying the province’s telehealth workers are overwhelmed with a rise in calls.

On Thursday, Christian Dubé mentioned the province is on the lookout for retired nurses, these working within the non-public sector and nursing college students. He mentioned they’ll enroll on the province’s recruitment web site known as Je contribue — French for “I pitch in” — that was launched at first of the pandemic.

Dubé mentioned the province wants 3,000 certified folks to step up however added Quebec “could take up to 5,000 nurses to answer the phones.” 

“If there are nurses that want to help us over the coming weeks, there are good schedules. It’s work that can be done part time.”

When Quebecers name 811, the primary choice on the menu is for Info-Santé, the place nurses assess a caller’s signs and provide medical recommendation. The second choice is for dad and mom of sick youngsters, underneath the age of 18.

Those two providers obtained 5,000 calls every on Wednesday, based on the well being minister, and it is a quantity of calls that is too excessive for present workers ranges.

The service now lets callers understand how lengthy the ready instances are, Dubé mentioned. He mentioned the province needs to create a digital ready room, permitting callers to depart their quantity and have 811 workers name them again as a substitute of ready on the road.

“But to do that, I have to be certain that a nurse will be able to call back the patient,” Dubé mentioned, implying that with out extra workers, it could be tough for nurses to deal with callbacks.

The well being minister, who shaped a disaster activity drive in late October to deal with the problem of overcrowded emergency rooms, mentioned the problem is much from resolved, however there was progress.

He additionally mentioned most of the folks calling 811 are individuals who in any other case would have headed straight to the ER.

But Dubé mentioned the scenario will stay “very difficult” for the foreseeable future, with about 120,000 youngsters presently residence from faculty due to sickness.

According to the president of the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ), which represents 76,000 health-care employees together with nurses and nursing assistants, Dubé’s plea for extra 811 workers exhibits how out of contact he’s with actuality.

“There are about 5,000 workers missing in the health-care sector,” mentioned Julie Bouchard. “If we don’t have them for [facilities in] the public network, we definitely won’t have them for 811.”

The well being minister didn’t seek the advice of with the FIQ earlier than making Thursday’s public assertion, Bouchard mentioned.

In addition to Info-Santé and the pediatric hotline, the province has additionally launched a 3rd 811 choice, known as the Primary Care Access Point, recognized in French because the Guichet d’accès première ligne (GAP).

Quebecers who do not have a household physician — and who’re signed up on the ready checklist for one — can use the GAP to have a nurse assess their signs and, if wanted, guide an appointment for them with a basic practitioner or refer them to the fitting service.

According to the province, half of the calls to the GAP finish with an appointment being booked for a affected person.

Since final Friday, the flu shot is free throughout Quebec.