Santé Québec, the brand new government creation supposed to transform the pachyderm of our health system into a leaping gazelle, has finally been in operation since Sunday. Champagne! A year after the forceful passage – sorry, the adoption under gag order – of this legislative marvel, we are finally beginning the great transition. Transition which, of course, will stretch over months, even years. Just in time for another government to come and turn everything upside down and propose HIS miracle solution.
Magic Quebec
But let’s be honest, we should have named this structure Magie Québec, because, obviously, we expect supernatural exploits from it. Solve decades-old problems in the blink of an eye? Easy! Reduce waiting hours in emergency rooms, guarantee a family doctor for everyone, eliminate waiting lists for surgeries, increase efficiency, effectiveness AND save $1 to 1.5 billion? Just that.
The problem – because there is always one – is that we are asking for all this without giving Santé Québec any real power. No look at the collective agreements of nurses, general practitioners and specialists. No more beds, therefore no new hospitals. And, of course, no exceeding budgets or deadlines. In short, a mission impossible, but without Tom Cruise.
It’s easy to imagine the scene: Geneviève Biron, newly appointed CEO, walks through the doors of her new office. On her desk, she finds… brand new business cards, a computer dating from the prehistoric era and, placed delicately next to it, a worn-out magic wand. With a little handwritten note from Christian Dubé: “Good luck!”
It should come as no surprise that his media tour was so light on content. Honestly, what would you have said in his place? “Hello, I’m here to fail with style”?
Failure after failure
For decades, health has become the Achilles heel of all governments, regardless of their color. The ambulatory shift, the Toyota method, the Barrette bulldozer… Everything has been tried. The gentle method, the strong method, and even the extra strong method: nothing works.
So what do we do? We keep the beast away from politics, in order to have something to blame when the inevitable failure occurs. And, as usual, we will end up sacrificing the leader, looking for another “solution”. This time, however, it will not be a “top gun” that we will hire, but a master sorcerer. With a broom. And maybe even a pointy hat.
