Montreal is not the only one to have had many family doctors taken away for the benefit of the 450 this year. The North Shore too, and the doctors are outraged.
“We are a remote region and there, we have the impression of being even further away than usual,” argues the head of the Regional Department of General Medicine (DRMG) of the North Shore, Roger Dubé.
“It’s insulting,” protests the Dr Pierre Gosselin, who chairs the Association of General Practitioners of the Côte-Nord. “We have been in misery for years. Looks like we don’t have support. “
The region, which has 158 family physicians in total, was given 18 more positions this year. But the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, used his discretion to remove eight.
This is the equivalent of 44% of the resources promised, which is even more in proportion to what was taken away in Montreal for the benefit of the 450, underlines the Dr Roger Dubé. “It’s huge,” he said. This year, we are losing a lot. “
We are a remote region and there, we have the impression of being even further away than usual.
On October 7, The duty revealed that Minister Dubé had used his discretion to significantly reduce the number of physicians from PREMs (Regional Medical Staffing Plans) intended for the Montreal region and the North Shore for the benefit of Montérégie, Laval , the Laurentians and Lanaudière.
In the minister’s office, it is argued that the North Shore is struggling to fill the positions assigned to it anyway. “Despite the financial incentives already present, it is clear that doctors do not take the available places,” replied in writing his press officer, Marjaurie Côté-Boileau.
Thus, in 2018, seven of the seventeen positions granted were not taken. The following year, it was even worse: only six of the nineteen positions found takers.
The Dr Dubé agrees that recruiting is difficult, especially in Port-Cartier, Forestville, Havre-Saint-Pierre and Fermont. The situation is better in Sept-Îles and Baie-Comeau. “Moreover, Baie-Comeau is going to serve Forestville on a regular basis to help out. “
In Fermont, for example, doctors who were due to retire agreed to continue working part-time for another year to compensate for the lack of recruits.
The Dr Dubé also points out that last year, recruitment was quite good (19 positions filled out of 20) and it is difficult to understand why this was not taken into account. “We expected it to be even better than last year. “
“We had finally had a complete team for recruiting at the CISSS [Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux] », Deplores for his part the Dr Gosselin.
Never seen
The role of general practitioners is expanded in remote regions. As specialist physicians are rarer, the role of family physicians is much more central in emergency rooms and in hospitals (second line). They work in pediatrics, psychiatry and even oncology.
According to the Dr Dubé, the drop in PREMs is dramatic, because the North Shore depends on PREMs to recruit new doctors. “It is rare for a practicing doctor to move to the North Shore. “
The problem, he continues, is that “the message” launched by the minister risks making future recruitment even more difficult. It gives the impression that the North Shore “doesn’t need doctors that much”.
Also last year, the minister at the time, Danielle McCann, reduced the PREMs of the North Shore, but to a much lesser extent, notes the Dr Dubé. “She had reduced them by four or five out of a total of 21. […] Eight is the first time, and it seems really arbitrary to me. “
On the North Shore, the registration rate for a family doctor is 77%, the same as in Montérégie and less than in the rest of 450.
However, the number of doctors per 1,500 inhabitants is higher than the Quebec average (2.9 against 1.7).
In Quebec, the distribution of physicians in the territory (PREMs) is determined by a committee of representatives from the Ministry of Health and medical federations, the Committee for the Management of Medical Staff in General Medicine (COGEM), which is based on various calculations to decide.