(Saint-Hyacinthe) Minister of Health Christian Dubé condemns a “union maneuver” by the Federation of General Practitioners of Quebec (FMOQ) which results in a significant drop in appointments available to patients as of 1er June.
“I will never accept that we take the population hostage in the negotiations! » thundered Mr. Dubé during a speech to CAQ activists meeting in general council in Saint-Hyacinthe on Saturday. He says he is “concerned by the union maneuver to encourage the cessation of appointments for patients at the Front Line Access Center (GAP)”.
He deplored the sending of letters by groups of family doctors (GMF) informing patients that they will no longer be able to obtain an appointment via the GAP. CAQ deputies have also received letters from doctors’ associations informing them that they are forced to reduce the number of appointment slots at the GAP or even to stop offering them. For the minister, it is a campaign organized by the FMOQ, which encourages its members to offer fewer services to patients.
According to data from the Ministry of Health, there is also a significant drop in the number of appointments offered at GAP by doctors from 1er June.
PHOTO JACQUES BOISSINOT, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
The Minister of Health, Christian Dubé
Last week, there were 17,604 appointments offered at GAP. There are 18,398 for the week of May 25. However, there are approximately three times fewer for the week of 1er June (5699). Appointments are even fewer for the weeks of June 8 (5488) and June 15 (2602).
The origin of this conflict is the minister’s decision to remove the 1er June the premium of $120 per year for each patient registered with a GMF through the GAP. It is provided for in an agreement between Quebec and the FMOQ which will expire on May 31.
The two parties negotiate to determine the next course of action. But “negotiation is difficult,” admitted Christian Dubé. “We do not agree on how to renew the GAP.” According to him, after 18 months, “it was planned that we would end the agreement, that we would take stock and look at things to improve. » He accused the FMOQ of spreading “disinformation” on the subject.
A conciliator was appointed to try to resolve the impasse between Quebec and the FMOQ.