Posted at 5:00 a.m.
The Legault government is on the way to missing its objective of giving access to a family doctor to 250,000 Quebecers by July 31, when the waiting list continues to swell.
According to figures released Tuesday on the Dashboard – performance of the health and social services networkno less than 1,088,945 requests were pending at the Family Doctor Access Window (GAMF) as of June 30, a record since the election of the Coalition avenir Québec in 2018.
However, when concluding an agreement in principle last May with the Federation of General Practitioners of Quebec, the Legault government had set itself the target of removing 250,000 patients from this list by July 31.
“By July 31, it’s soon, on July 31, 2022, there will be 250,000 more Quebecers who will have a family doctor, then, by March 31, 2023, 500,000”, had then affirmed the Prime Minister in the Blue Room, thus revealing a first target of the implementation of this new agreement in principle.
No less than 990,395 orphan patients were then registered on the GAMF waiting list. Two months later, it is clear that this figure has only increased.
During this time, the rate of registration has not had the hoped-for momentum, while barely 32,952 Quebecers have been able to have a family doctor designated for two months, i.e. 17,925 in May and 15,027 in June. .
Quebec stays the course
Consequently, the number of Quebecers registered with a family doctor fell to 6,446,551. We have to go back to the pre-pandemic period, i.e. February 2019, to find a figure as low as at the end of June; 6,446,652 Quebecers were then registered with a family doctor.
Despite everything, the Legault government says it will achieve its goal of registering 250,000 additional patients by July 31.
“Currently, the indications we have are to the effect that we are heading in the right direction to achieve the targets of the agreement. This information will appear in the next two updates of the public dashboard, ”said the deputy director of the cabinet of the Minister of Health, Sylvain Gobeil.
In addition, 250,000 additional orphan patients will be assigned a family doctor by March 31, 2023, for a total of 500,000, he adds.
“Puff in the Eyes”
For the leader of the official opposition, Dominique Anglade, this speech is “window dressing”. She criticizes the Premier of Quebec, François Legault, for “accepting the unacceptable”.
We see the consequences everywhere in our emergencies which are crowded with people, people are not able to have an appointment with a doctor, they are simply not able.
Dominique Anglade, Leader of the Official Opposition
Mme Anglade cites in particular the case of a mother met in Bromont whose 10-month-old child has never been able to see a doctor.
According to what the president of the Federation of General Practitioners of Quebec (FMOQ) had explained, Dr.r Marc-André Amyot, on May 30, after signing an agreement with the government, the goal is for family medicine groups (GMF) in the province to commit to offering 250,000 visits to orphan patients thanks to at the first line access desk (GAP).
This new mechanism aims to offer an alternative solution to orphan patients and direct them to the right professional, in the right place.
However, according to the Liberal leader, Dominique Anglade, “it is not at all the same thing” as being taken care of by a family doctor.
“The agreement with the FMOQ says that a patient who registers will not have a family doctor, but will be entitled to an appointment. The person who is registered enters a process, but does not have a doctor who supports him [en fin de compte] “, she laments.
Not only what they offer is not a support, but the list [d’attente] continues to increase.
Dominique Anglade, Leader of the Official Opposition
GAP deployment continues
In the meantime, Quebec is continuing to deploy front-line access counters (GAP) across the province.
As of July 14, 48 of the 92 territories ultimately to be served by a GAP were. “The implementation of these front-line access counters is a major change, because previously, these people had too few options to have a front-line service with a health professional”, explains Sylvain Gobeil.
“Currently, we see that more than 40% of calls to frontline access counters do not require a visit. [auprès d’un médecin] “, he adds.