After denouncing Quebec City’s “counterproductive method” and “confrontational attitude” when Bill 15 was tabled, which aims to reform the health care system, the Federation of Medical Specialists of Quebec (FMSQ) is changing its tone . The union reiterates that it should have been consulted upstream, but it says it is “ready to sit down” with the Quebec government and show “openness” during possible discussions.
Thanks to this bill, the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, wants in particular to impose “specific medical activities” on medical specialists (on call, working a certain number of hours in the hospital, etc.) in order to meet the needs of the population in the various regions of Quebec. Such activities are already required of general practitioners during their first 15 years of practice.
“We are not against specific medical activities,” said Dr.r Oliva, during a press conference held in Montreal on Tuesday. If the department had told us: “We want to include that in the bill”, the next day, we would have been in Quebec, we would have sat down and we would have negotiated that. The problem is that we were not consulted. It is not acceptable. »
The Dr Oliva acknowledges that “some doctors, in some specialties, could do more.” But he refuses to point the finger at all the members of specialties in particular, such as dermatology and psychiatry, who would practice more in the office.
According to the FMSQ, only 5% of specialists work outside hospitals. Among these, some see patients in the clinic whose care is covered by the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec, specifies the Dr Olive. Others are forced to practice in premises outside the hospital, for lack of space in the hospital center, he says.
Decisions to be made
The president of the FMSQ judges that the reform includes “good ideas”, such as the promotion of “interdisciplinary decisions” and the review of care trajectories. However, he regrets that doctors are losing power in this reform which will create the Health Quebec agency.
“Is it normal that there isn’t an ex officio doctor on the agency’s board of directors? ask the Dr Olive. It is very particular. It worries us. These are things that we will want to discuss in a parliamentary committee. He argues that medical specialists are “shaking the machine” to advocate for their patients and provide them with “advanced technologies,” among other things.
The FMSQ is also asking Quebec to act before the agency is set up. “The waiting lists are very long for all specialized medicine, recalls the Dr Olive. There are decisions that must be made now and that are delayed. »
The union indicates that it has proposed solutions to the government, in particular for catching up on surgeries. “We are committed to having doctors available over extended hours,” says Dr.r Oliva as an example. However, he recalls that surgeons must have access to technical platforms to operate on their patients.
Further details will follow.