Health centers spared as Health Accord launches long-awaited implementation plan

The long-awaited plan to implement changes in the health system has been published, but the Health Agreement does not recommend the closure of any of the province’s 23 health centers.

The health agreement says that the current health centers are geographically well positioned throughout the province, but some recommendations are made on working hours and the scope of services depending on where these centers are located.

The health agreement says that health centers within 60-90 minutes of a hospital and serving a population of less than 5,000-6,000 people must provide a combination of services, including emergency care and response to minor emergencies at 12 hours a day. .

Health centers that are more than 90 minutes from a hospital and that provide a combination of services, including emergency care, should be open 24 hours a day, as they have the additional responsibility of stabilizing and transferring emergency patients to the nearest hospital.

Meanwhile, the Health Agreement says that the occupancy of emergency care beds in some health centers is lower than the optimal percentage of 85 percent, while the percentage of alternative care is higher than the provincial percentage of 20 percent. The health agreement says that in time it will be necessary to equalize the number of beds. It says emergency care beds should only exist in health centers with 24-hour emergency care.

The Health Agreement reiterates that the number one social determinant of health is poverty and recommends a guaranteed basic income with the help of the federal government to bridge the gap and improve life expectancy in the Netherlands, which is more than two years shorter than the average. for Canada.

According to the Health Agreement, lower life expectancy is due to the highest mortality rates in the provinces caused by cancer and cardiovascular disease. The province also has the highest rate of chronic diseases in the elderly and medical complexity in children with the highest per capita costs and the worst performance in the country’s health system.