MONTREAL – Quebec Health Minister, Gaetan Barrette, spent Saturday afternoon touring a Syrian refugee health clinic set up in the emergency room of the former Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal.
The clinic is set up to give newcomers a health check.
The refugees are seen by nurses and given all necessary immunizations, including flu shots.
Social workers and other health professionals are also on hand to perform psychological evaluations with an emphasis on detecting signs of possible post-traumatic stress disorder.
READ MORE: Arrival of Syrian refugees in Montreal a ‘Christmas present’ to reunited family
If any significant health problems are detected, patients are referred to specialists.
Barrette said he was pleased with what he saw during his short visit and that things were running smoothly.
“People are not overwhelmed with the workload that they are facing today, ” he said. “That’s a good thing in itself because it shows that in Quebec we can do things correctly. We have the capacity, we’re not overwhelmed by the situation.”
Barrette was confident in the system’s capacity to accommodate an even greater number of refugees.
As soon as they land in Montreal, refugees are given a medicare card number which gives them full access to health services in the province.
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