(Quebec and Montreal) Minister Christian Dubé revealed that more than 830,000 Quebecers are waiting for a consultation in specialized medicine, while the Federation of Medical Specialists of Quebec has expressed reservations about its vast reform, which will require them to Do more. Mr. Dubé also deplores the lack of cooperation from the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec.
The Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) added a new indicator to its dashboard on Tuesday: the number of Quebecers waiting for a consultation in specialized medicine. Currently, 831,470 people are on the Service Dispatch Center lists for an appointment with a medical specialist on the recommendation of a general practitioner.
This publication comes as the president of the Federation of Medical Specialists of Quebec (FMSQ), Dr.r Vincent Oliva, made his first public appearance since the tabling last Wednesday of Bill 15 aimed at making the health and social services system more efficient. The Dubé reform casts a wide net and plans to oblige medical specialists to carry out “specific medical activities” as general practitioners do.
These activities include, but are not limited to, participation in hospital call, working hours in unfavorable shifts and emergency room availability.
We are not against specific medical activities. If the Ministry had told us: “We want to include that in the bill”, the next day we would have gone to Quebec, we would have sat down and we would have negotiated that. The problem is that we were not consulted.
The Dr Vincent Oliva, President of the Federation of Medical Specialists of Quebec
“I think we consulted them,” retorted the Minister of Health on Tuesday. Christian Dubé nevertheless welcomed the change in tone of the FMSQ, which last week denounced “the confrontational attitude of the MSSS” when the minister’s announcement was not yet finished. The doctors’ union said on Tuesday “looking with openness” at the bill and “taking the time to analyze it well”.
Peaks for waiting
Furthermore, the Dr Oliva admitted that some doctors “could do more,” but “that’s the minority,” he added. “I don’t believe in that, specialties that do less of their part. […] Doctors work very hard. “Last week, Minister Christian Dubé said he did not want to “find the culprits”, but added that he expected a boost in certain specialties.
The data published on Tuesday provide a clearer idea of the specialties and regions where there is more catching up to do. It is in dermatology that the list is the longest, with 104,592 patients waiting, of which 62,424 are “out of time”. Next come specialties such as immunology (72,289), gynecology (69,537) and ENT (69,221).
Christian Dubé denies putting pressure on medical specialists by publishing these data, recalling that he had undertaken to make them public.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé
I would tell you that the specialists, they work very hard, they have enough pressure. What we want is to say, often as we do: do you need help in that specialty, in that region?
Christian Dubé, Minister of Health and Social Services
The minister recognizes that his bill could have been different if he had reached an agreement with the FMSQ more quickly, but “at some point, you have to draw the line,” he maintained.
The Dr Vincent Oliva noted several “good ideas” in the legislative text, such as “making more room for interdisciplinary decisions”. However, he has concerns and reservations. “We evacuate doctors from decision-making, when it is fundamental that we are there,” he lamented.
Quebec targets the FIQ
The opposition on Tuesday criticized the Prime Minister’s remarks about the president of the Quebec Interprofessional Health Federation (FIQ), Julie Bouchard. On Monday, François Legault shared Patrick Lagacé’s column on Twitter entitled “Bialing for blubbering” by taking up a sentence from his text.
“We have to talk about Julie Bouchard, president of the FIQ, the great union of nurses,” wrote Mr. Legault in his publication.
The Parti Québécois said that this exit “is not worthy” and asked Mr. Legault to rectify the situation. The Liberals recalled that the Prime Minister must “be a unifier”, while Quebec solidaire argued that the tweet was “revealing of the attitude of François Legault [qui est] in showdown mode.
“I completely agree with my premier on one thing: it’s much more difficult with the FIQ than with the other unions,” said the Minister of Health. “We saw a lot of unions who told us: ‘We want to collaborate’, and I haven’t heard that from the FIQ yet,” lamented Christian Dubé.
Fiasco at the SAAQ: fears for Santé Québec
Public service unions expressed fears on Tuesday over the announced centralization of computer systems to Santé Québec, which will become the sole employer in the health network – which currently has 34. “When I heard that […] my anxiety skyrocketed,” said the president of the Syndicat de professionnals et professionels du gouvernement du Québec, Guillaume Bouvrette. “The objective is laudable, but the question I ask myself is how we are going to get there,” he added, deploring the “vicious circle” of recourse to external expertise for government projects. More than 1,000 positions are to be filled in various ministries and organizations just to maintain and maintain the computer equipment, deplored the union, which is asking Quebec to tackle the labor shortage by “significantly” improving its offers. wages.
THEY SAID
I think that there is indeed reason to have a discussion, in particular with our medical specialists, on how to […] That, we will always be present to debate constructively on this. I think everyone can do better. Then I think that the government, now, must put in place the winning conditions to be able to do more and better.
Marc Tanguay, interim leader of the Quebec Liberal Party
Giving a populational responsibility to medical specialists, we think it’s a good idea. We have to tighten the screws on medical specialists in Quebec, we’ve been talking about it for a long time at Québec solidaire, my colleague Amir Khadir was talking about it when he was the only solidarity deputy here, in the National Assembly. So that is an aspect of the reform on which we agree.
Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, parliamentary leader of Québec solidaire
We want to promote a better distribution of medical specialists, but, at the same time, the bill allows for better mobility of health personnel. One could also imagine that nurses from the regions may also want to leave for the major centres. That too is possible, then we [à Matane], we are short of nurses. So there is a set of issues.
Pascal Bérubé, from the Parti Québécois, MP for Matane-Matapédia