In order to relieve the burden on doctors, specialized nurse practitioners (IPS) take care of patients who no longer need acute care who are waiting for a place in a residential center in the geriatrics unit of the Hospital of Suroît of Valleyfield, in Montérégie.
Tuesday, they 12 in this situation while the unit has 36 beds. Patients in this situation stay on average between 25 and 40 days in hospital.
“I have lung cancer and then I had a pulmonary embolism, and I caught COVID with all that,” explained patient Rose-Mai Boisclair.
These IPSs take care of them in turn, during their on-call periods, which last a week.
“It’s a very innovative project, we’re the first in Quebec. During his entire stay here, if the patient remains stable, that is really self-care of the IPS. The doctor is not questioned, at any level. If the patient decompensates, the IPS will welcome a doctor on duty,” said nurse Annabelle Rioux.
Isabelle Hubert was the first IPS to participate in the project.
“We have time to review their pharmacology, their list of drugs. Often, they even improve, we do reassessments and we find them an environment that is perhaps, sometimes, easier to find, because they are less burdensome in terms of the loss of autonomy. did she say.
The project, which has been gradually implemented over the past four years, is now attracting the interest of other CISSSs and CIUSSSs in Quebec.
See the explanation in the video above.