Gaétan Barrette opens new Vaudreuil-Dorion health centre

Health Minister Gaétan Barrette inaugurated a new health care centre in Vaudreuil-Dorion on Monday morning. 

The CLSC and ambulatory care centre will provide primary and specialized care, like a hospital. According to Barrette, the only difference is that there are no beds.

“You have a point of care of service today in this installation that will cover almost every field of health care," he said. "This is something that we want to do elsewhere.”

The nearly 9,000 square feet centre on Gare Blvd is intended to serve the 145,000 people in Vaudreuil-Dorion.

The province is paying $3.1 million per year to lease the building, as well as drawing an annual $2.8 million from a regional fund. The provincial government is also giving the project a one-time injection of $3.9 million.

Province will see more of the centres

Barrette says the new centre is a sign of things to come in Quebec health care.

“We will see an integration, as we want to do elsewhere in the province," said Barrette at the inauguration. He says integrating social services care is a goal of the government.

As of now, people in Vaudreuil-Dorion need to go to neighbouring cities to get specialized health care. Barrette says the focus is on decentralizing health care - and providing more services to people closer to where they live.

“At the end of the day, at the end of this fall… there will be more services.”

Residents want a hospital

Sandra Martinelli says a new health care centre is improvement - but it’s just a band aid solution.

Martinelli says many of her neighbours go to Salaberry-de-Valleyfield or Pointe-Claire when they need emergency care, where it can take up to eight hours before seeing a doctor.

Instead of an ambulatory care centre, she wishes the government would build a small hospital.

“We don’t have to have everything. You can still go to another hospital for major things.”

The local MNA, Lucie Charlebois, describes the care centre as a victory for the region. She’s been fighting for a hospital for years and says this centre will help fill a health care gap. However, she's adamant that a hospital will eventually be built.

“As the minister said, he’s going to come back to announce where we’ll put the hospital,” she said. “And I’m working very hard on that.”