The impact of the work on the Pierre-Laporte Bridge will be felt even in the health system as the Quebec Physical Deficiency Rehabilitation Institute (IRDPQ) will suspend services and elective surgeries will be postponed.
A family from Quebec, whose child is followed by a speech therapist at the service center on Chemin Saint-Louis of the IRDPQ, was surprised to learn that the branch will be partly closed from June 28 to July 7 and from 9 to 20 August.
By email, the speech-language pathologist offered them video conferencing therapy, sending materials to work at home or to take a summer break.
The family, who did not want to be identified, find the decision to close the institute extreme. She feels that virtual follow-up is not a valid option either, since it does not work well with their child.
Hotspot
The CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale invoked “security reasons related to a significant risk of being stuck for several hours in traffic jams and the associated risks of this vulnerable clientele”, to close the road service center. Saint-Louis during the two periods of work on the Pierre-Laporte bridge, indicated its spokesperson Annie Ouellet.
However, the decision does not affect the main IRDPQ building on Boulevard Wilfrid-Hamel.
The CIUSSS says it has taken into account in particular the location in a major congestion sector, the request from the Ministry of Transport to limit traffic when approaching bridges and the possibility of offering services by videoconference or at home.
The center in Saint-Louis, however, remains open “for essential rehabilitation services”.
Accommodations at the CHU
For its part, the CHU indicated that non-urgent surgeries can be postponed for patients from the South Shore who cannot be accommodated on the North Shore following the operation. Those who have accommodation will keep their appointment.
“The goal is to make as little postponement as possible. We have already had to postpone non-emergency surgeries because of COVID, ”says Bryan Gélinas, spokesperson for the CHU.
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