Jobs

Hospital intervention agent in Quebec: pay, role and agencies

The intervention agent is now called an ISPS (job title 3547). Pay in 2026, role, training, and who guards Quebec hospitals: network staff or private agencies.

October 23, 2026 · By the Agent Santé editorial team · Lire en français

Jobs

The intervention agent in a Quebec hospital now has another name: specialized pacification and security worker (intervenant spécialisé en pacification et en sécurité, ISPS). It is job title 3547 of the health network. The pay is $26.18 to $31.09 an hour as of April 1, 2026. Here are the role, the pay and the training. Here is also who really keeps Quebec hospitals safe: network employees or private agencies.

Intervention agent or ISPS: the same job

The CPNSSS list of job titles, in its June 9, 2026 version, no longer contains the title "agent d'intervention". The current title is "intervenant spécialisé ou intervenante spécialisée en pacification et en sécurité", number 3547. The team leader has a separate title, 3557.

Institutions still use the old name. The CISSS de la Côte-Nord writes "ISPS or intervention agent" in its June 3, 2026 news release.

The network has no job title for security guards. The CISSS de la Montérégie-Est says so in an access to information response dated June 11, 2026: the comparable functions are ISPS (3547) and ISPS team leader (3557).

What an intervention agent does

According to the CPNSSS list, the ISPS:

supports, supervises, disciplines, accompanies and leads activities for the users in their care
welcomes users of all intervention services
intervenes with a user in crisis or in disorganization
supports the staff in the services
may give basic care, such as help with hygiene and eating
intervenes physically when the situation requires it
searches users or premises on request
reports observations in writing

The job is found mostly in psychiatric emergency rooms, psychiatric units and youth rehabilitation centres. The intervention agent is often part of the team that responds to a code white, when a person becomes violent or threatening.

Intervention agent pay

Title 3547 is at ranking 10 of category 2 (paratechnical, auxiliary services and trades staff). The work week is 35 to 38.75 hours.

Step	Rate as of April 1, 2026
1	$26.18
2	$26.79
3	$27.50
4	$28.18
5	$28.87
6	$29.59
7	$30.29
8	$31.09

Source: CPNSSS, list of job titles, June 9, 2026. Hourly rates, before evening, night and weekend premiums. As of April 1, 2027, the scale will run from $27.10 to $32.18.

At 37.5 hours a week, the first step comes to about $51,200 a year and the last to about $60,800. The team leader (3557) earns $26.54 to $30.83 an hour at the first seven steps.

Intervention agent or agency security guard?

Both work in hospitals. They do not have the same employer or the same pay.

	Intervention agent (ISPS)	Agency security guard
Employer	The health institution	A private security agency, under contract
Work rules	Network collective agreement	Decree respecting security guards
Hourly rate in 2026	$26.18 to $31.09	At least $20.60, plus $2.00 in a health care setting with crisis management training (premium P-3)
Role	Clinical intervention with users in crisis	Watching the premises, access control, rounds

The minimum for an agency guard in health care is therefore $22.60 an hour, compared with $26.18 for an ISPS at the first step. Agency guard pay is detailed on Agent de sécurité Québec, our sister site.

Who keeps hospitals safe?

On April 1, 2026, the same access to information request was sent to every institution in the network. It asked about contracts with private security agencies and the amounts paid to them. Here is what the published responses show.

One agency contract for almost the whole network

The Centre d'acquisitions gouvernementales (CAG) signed contract 2024-8023-50, "Agence de sécurité – Secteur santé". It is divided into 17 regional lots. Lot 06 covers Montreal and lot 03 covers the Capitale-Nationale. The contract ends on October 31, 2027 and can be renewed for two years.

The CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal sums it up in its April 29, 2026 response: the contract covers the whole health sector.

Institution by institution

Institution	What public documents show
MUHC	The Centre d'acquisitions gouvernementales contract is the only contract currently in force for its security services (response of April 20, 2026).
CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal	Trimax Sécurité agency (2026 access response).
CIUSSS de l'Ouest, du Centre-Ouest, de l'Est and du Nord-de-l'Île-de-Montréal	Use agencies under the Centre d'acquisitions gouvernementales contract for the Montreal region (lot 06).
CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale	Has used agencies under the Centre d'acquisitions gouvernementales contract since November 1, 2025, for occasional and specialized needs in the Québec City region (lot 03).
CISSS de l'Abitibi-Témiscamingue	$13,215,510 paid to Groupe de sécurité Garda from 2022 to 2026 (response of April 21, 2026).
CISSS de la Montérégie-Est	209 in-house ISPS: 59 full-time position holders, 4 temporary full-time, 48 part-time position holders and 98 temporary part-time (response of June 11, 2026).
CHU de Québec (including the CHUL), CHUM, CISSS de Laval	No published response found as of October 23, 2026.

The names of the agencies chosen for the Montreal and Capitale-Nationale lots do not appear in the documents published by the CAG.

In Abitibi-Témiscamingue, the bill fell from $5,023,434 in 2022 to $1,805,972 in 2026. In Montérégie-Est, the institution writes that its recall list meets its needs, notably by hiring students.

The CHUL psychiatric emergency room

The CHUL is part of the CHU de Québec. Its psychiatric emergency room is run by the CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale. According to the CSN, the intervention agent position dedicated to that emergency room was abolished in November 2024.

In a news release published during the 2026 Occupational Health and Safety Week, the unions report that a patient care attendant was injured in an assault on August 17, 2026. They call for a continuous presence of qualified intervention agents and for security work given to private agencies to be brought back in-house.

The request is not new. On February 3, 2023, the CSN unions of the CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale and the CHU de Québec were already calling for intervention agents at all times in the CHUL emergency rooms. According to them, private firm guards are not trained to intervene in psychiatry.

These facts come from union news releases. No public response from Santé Québec or the CHU de Québec was found.

Becoming an intervention agent

The CPNSSS list sets no schooling requirement for title 3547. Each institution sets its own. In 2026, the CISSS de la Côte-Nord asks for:

a high school diploma or equivalent, or six months of experience as an ISPS or intervention agent
a physical test passed at hiring

The same CISSS offers its ISPS in Baie-Comeau and Sept-Îles a paid 72-hour training with the Cégep de Baie-Comeau. It is taken online and has four blocks: helping relationship and intervention techniques, communication and emotional decoding, intervention in specific settings, protection of physical and psychological integrity and ethics.

In the network, the ASSTSAS Oméga training teaches how to prevent and manage aggressive situations. Our article on code white describes it.

Did you like this article?

Share this article

Facebook LinkedIn Reddit X Email

Frequently asked questions

What is an intervention agent?

An employee of the health network who supports, supervises and accompanies users. The intervention agent steps in when a user is in crisis. The official title is now specialized pacification and security worker (ISPS), number 3547.

How much does an intervention agent earn?

$26.18 to $31.09 an hour as of April 1, 2026, depending on the step. The rate goes from $27.10 to $32.18 as of April 1, 2027.

What training do you need to become an intervention agent?

The job list requires no diploma. Institutions often ask for a high school diploma or experience. They also require a physical test. Part of the training is given after hiring.

What is the difference between an intervention agent and a security guard?

The intervention agent is an employee of the institution who works with users. The security guard works for a private agency under contract and watches the premises. The network has no security guard job title.

Who keeps Quebec hospitals safe?

Both at once. ISPS employed by the institution work with users. Private agencies supply security guards, mostly through contract 2024-8023-50 of the Centre d'acquisitions gouvernementales.

Where does an intervention agent work?

Mostly in psychiatric emergency rooms, psychiatric units and rehabilitation centres for youth in difficulty. The Institut Pinel has its own title, 6500.