Premier François Legault has almost finished his tour of the regions of Quebec during which he had the opportunity to meet the leaders of the health network.
In an interview with TVA Nouvelles in La Sarre, Mr. Legault made a surprising observation.
“Me, I was surprised to see that, in several CHSLDs in Quebec, there is no boss! I often say, when there are five responsible people, there is no one responsible, ”laments the Prime Minister.
Quebec posted the worst toll in the country during the first wave of COVID-19, with more than 5,700 deaths.
“The mistakes we made in the first wave in CHSLDs must be corrected,” he insists.
He also underlines the communication problems between the Ministry of Health and the heads of establishments which, according to him, should no longer arise.
No blame for employees
François Legault does not point the finger at employees for failures in CHSLDs, but rather the bosses.
He maintains that the latter did not follow the instructions from the government, did not call for help when it was understaffed and did not ask for protective equipment quickly enough.
“I asked the new Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, to table a plan. He will ensure that the CEOs of CISSS and the bosses of CHSLDs are accountable, are responsible and also that they report regularly, ”warns François Legault.
The Dubé plan will focus on accountability
The Prime Minister shuffled his cards in June and placed a man who is not from the health network, but who has more of an entrepreneurial mentality, at the head of the largest government department in Quebec.
He also changed the senior officials who surround Minister Dubé with the objective of giving more bite to the management of the network.
It does not change the structures, but senior leaders will now have to answer for their decisions in the event of 2e wave of COVID, which was not the case, he found.
“During my tour, in such a CHSLD, I asked the question: there were 50 infections, did you kick the CEO out?”
“No! he is answered, it was not really him responsible. ”
An answer that left him speechless. That is why he calls for accountability.
“There are going to be consequences. It must have consequences. We cannot afford to say: “there have been human errors, unfortunately, there have been 10, 20 deaths in such a CHSLD because we did not wear the equipment,” “says François Legault.
“There has to be someone responsible for ensuring that all employees wear protective equipment when required, starting with masks,” continues the Prime Minister.
Result: there will now be bosses in all establishments.
“There are 400 CHSLDs. There are some who already have a boss. It is possible, among the employees, to appoint one with some authority over the other employees. In some cases, that will mean hiring, ”said Mr. Legault, who expects a much more efficient chain of communication this fall.
At least that’s the message he got on his tour, he says.
Dedicated hospitals
The Dubé plan will also provide, among other things, for flying teams to go and support establishments in the event of outbreaks and where there is a lack of personnel.
This was particularly the case in the greater Montreal area, which was hit hard during the first wave.
François Legault points out that there will be designated COVID-19 hospitals in each region.
“I do not have all the details of the plan that will be submitted by Christian Dubé, probably next week, we will designate all hospitals for Montreal and the regions,” he said.
Mr. Legault nevertheless displays a certain optimism. He believes that Quebec will be less affected if there is a second wave since the guardian angels have gained experience over the months.
“It is certain that we are still a little in the unknown for the possible 2e vague, but frankly, we risk having 90% fewer cases than the first wave because during the first wave, we were totally in the unknown, ”he hopes.
The Prime Minister is aware that he will be judged according to the results obtained with the Dubé plan.
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