Medical specialists want to 'get their facts straight' about Quebec health-care cuts

A patient walks down a corridor in the emergency department of the Montreal Children's Hospital, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Montreal. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press)

Quebec's federation of medical specialists is calling for an immediate moratorium on budget cuts in the health-care network affecting direct patient services and wants the measure to be put in place until the impact of the planned cuts on quality and access to care has been analyzed.

"It's not complicated. What we want is to get the facts right, and we want to make sure that there will be no impact on patients. We will never accept these cuts being made on the backs of patients," Quebec medical specialists federation (FMSQ) president, Dr. Vincent Oliva, told a press conference in Montreal on Thursday.

Accompanied by the federation's vice-president, Dr. Serge Legault, he denounced the cuts that establishments are beginning to implement in order to eliminate $1.5 billion in expenses to return the network to a balanced budget, at the request of the new Santé Québec agency.

Legault listed a number of examples to illustrate the effects of the budget cuts that are already being felt. These included endoscopic treatments being delayed, 400 job postings being "wiped off the map" at Laval's Cité-de-la-Santé, orthotist positions being cut "just about everywhere," and moratorium on the purchase of new equipment or on equipment maintenance programs.

Contrary to what the Legault government says, it is "not true" that these decisions have no impact and that the impact on care is minimal, Oliva said. The FMSQ believes that these cuts "will worsen an already critical situation, further limiting access to care."

"We're not just worried about access, we're starting to worry about patient safety. Because with all these patients not being treated, who are on waiting lists, accidents are going to happen in the end," said Oliva.

"On my phone today, I've already got three doctors complaining about cuts. (...) We're not here to scare people, but I think it's important to set the record straight," said Legault.

Less bureaucracy

According to Oliva, Quebec should instead cut back on bureaucracy "which is very cumbersome."

He points out that the province has three times as many health-care staff who do not provide direct patient care (civil servants, bureaucrats, managers) as countries of a comparable size, such as Sweden, but far fewer health workers.

"This ratio of staff who don't provide care versus carers needs to be reversed. But it takes time to do that," says the federation's president.

Premier François Legault has maintained that health budgets are on the rise. He linked the exit of the medical specialists to the negotiations underway between them and the government to renew the framework agreement.

"As we all know, the FMSQ is negotiating, and they want more money. Health budgets are up by 3 per cent over the year. So it's important to respect budgets over the year," Legault told reporters at the National Assembly on Thursday morning, before the federation's press conference.

Asked to respond, Oliva refuted the link made by the premier.

"The only thing I have to negotiate is that he won't cut health budgets. That's the only thing I'm pleading for here," adding that negotiations are progressing well, but slowly.

Health Minister Christian Dubé said that it was not up to doctors to manage the network.

"They have to be there for the patients, and then they have to sit down at the table. I don't want patients to be held hostage during negotiations," he said at a press scrum in Quebec City.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Dec. 5, 2024.