People began signing a petition demanding that an ambulatory health centre be built in the region during the H1N1 flu vaccination effort. (Kristina Edson)
Four mayors from île Perrot Island have joined forces to support to an ongoing effort to see the region’s first ambulatory health centre built.
Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot mayor Marie-Claude Nichols teamed up with Manon Trudel of Terrasse-Vaudreuil, Marc Roy of L’Île-Perrot and Pincourt mayor Yvan Cardinal to urge people to support the regional project.
The mayors were joined during a press conference by Health and Social Services vice-president Normand Brasseur.
All agreed the growing region, which is home to more than 125,000 people, must be able to count on proper medical infrastructures and services.
Petition ongoing
The mayors are urging people to sign a petition that has been circulating since Nov. 17.
The petition, started by the Vaudreuil-Soulanges public health and social services department, is demanding that an ambulatory medical centre be built as soon as possible.
According to Sophie Boucher, information officer with the Vaudreuil-Soulanges CSSS, the petition will be presented to the National Assembly sometime this spring.
And the project has the stamp of approval from Quebec’s top doctor.
Yves Bolduc, Minister of Health and Social Services, said during a visit to the region last fall that a booming population has made a medical centre a priority.
Bolduc had said at the time he would like to see shovels in the ground within the next few years.
The county’s current population could swell to 160,000 in the next few years according to Vaudreuil MNA Yvon Marcoux, who calls the centre “a must.”
And such a centre is expected to help ease overcrowding at Lakeshore General Hospital and Salaberry-de-Valleyfield hospital, both of which currently serve most Vaudreuil-Soulanges patients.
The proposed multi-disciplinary medical complex would include medical and paramedical services at one location and could include clinics such as same-day, outpatient, training clinics, and facilities offering same-day surgeries.
Bolduc said patients would receive treatment in the language of their choice.
The medical centre petition is available in all Vaudreuil-Soulanges CLSCs, as well as town halls in St. Lazare and île Perrot. Those interested in circulating their own petition can request a copy by email at: hopital.csssvs@rrsss16.gouv.qc.ca.
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