Montreal Clinic For Vulnerable Population Faces Closure Amid Quebec’s Controversial Bill 2

Clinique L’Agora, a captious health care hub for Montreal’s astir susceptible populations, says it will beryllium forced to adjacent connected April 1 owed to Quebec’s caller Bill 2.

Critics pass nan rule threatens to make it financially intolerable for clinics serving patients pinch analyzable needs to operate. Under nan legislation, doctors could spot up to 15 per cent of their salary trim based connected criteria yet to beryllium defined, perchance impacting clinics that attraction for LGBTQ2 patients, activity workers, and group experiencing homelessness aliases patients who often require longer, much intensive care.

Founded successful 2019, Clinique L’Agora serves astir 6,000 patients, galore surviving pinch addiction, HIV, hepatitis, aliases superior intelligence wellness challenges. Some patients don’t moreover person a RAMQ card, yet nan clinic’s accuracy has ever been to make them consciousness safe, welcomed, and cared for.

“The accuracy present is really to let these patients who would usually struggle to find a spot successful nan wellness attraction strategy to consciousness astatine location and consciousness safe,” said Dr. Antoine Cloutier-Blais, erstwhile of nan clinic’s co-owners.

The session provides captious services, including thoroughfare outreach, intersexual wellness care, and follow-ups for group dealing pinch nan semipermanent effects of constituent use.

“We person noticed that constituent usage disorders are not classified arsenic a priority, homelessness isn’t considered a wellness issue, and gender-affirming attraction is not recognized arsenic a priority,” Dr. Cloutier-Blais added.

Bill 2 will necktie portion of doctors’ salaries to nan vulnerability of their patients, wished by a government-defined colour system, raising concerns among wellness attraction professionals.

“So, now, erstwhile we person grounded them, we’ll see them a priority? This is conscionable plain neglect,” Dr. Cloutier-Blais said.

The rule has already forced Clinique L’Agora to extremity accepting caller referrals from bum shelters and supervised injection sites, leaving thousands of patients astatine risk.

“You don’t summation accessibility by shutting down points of care,” he added. “The mathematics doesn’t math.”

Trending Now

At Montreal’s largest LGBTQ2 wellness conference, experts and advocates said retired against Bill 2.

“With Agora, we’re talking astir 6,000 patients who request entree to wellness care, to a expert they tin trust, because they can’t trust connected nan mainstream wellness strategy owed to its shortcomings,” said Celeste Trainon, 1 of nan conference’s cardinal statement speakers, and nan founding head of Clinic Juritrans.

Health attraction providers pass that losing clinics for illustration L’Agora could lead to preventable wellness crises and moreover decease among group who autumn done nan cracks.

Many clinics are calling connected nan authorities to revise Bill 2 earlier it takes effect connected Jan.  1, saying Montreal’s astir susceptible populations will suffer entree to basal attraction otherwise.