Another super-clinic has opened in Montreal at the corner of Guy and Sherbrooke Sts., looking to serve tens of thousands of residents of the downtown core, Health Minister Gaetan Barrette announced on Monday.
"It's all about access, and access at the proper time," Barrette told reporters during the inauguration of the Metro Medic Centre-Ville as a super-clinic, in order to curb the number of trips Quebecers take to the ER—which frequently report being over 100 per cent capacity.
Metro Medic is expected to treat 20,000 patients per year on top of those currently enrolled with one of the clinic's family doctors. It is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day and is able to do basic medical tests and diagnostic imaging on-site.
The super-clinic is allocated six nurses, including one dedicated to medical tests such as blood work.
As part of the transition from family doctor group to super-clinic, Metro Medic is receiving over $86,000 in financial support.
Barrette claims his overhauls to the healthcare system, including the super-clinic initiative, has already made an impact.
"Each and every year [since the Couillard Liberals took office] there has been a reduction of visits to the Emergency Room," he said, with the biggest decrease being reported over the past seven months.
Figures supporting Barrette's claim could not be obtained from statistics published to the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services.
The Health Minister has pledged to open 50 super-clinics by the end of 2018. Since the plan was announced in spring 2016, 22 super-clinics have been announced or opened.