If no structuring action is taken, many citizens will continue to be deprived of access to the health care to which they are entitled.
We saw this as part of a tour of the health centers of Quebec, carried out during the year 2022. A dozen establishments were visited across the province, as well as the four faculties of medicine. The College of Physicians had never taken such a step in the field. This is part of its mission to protect the public.
A revealing survey
This tour was decided in the wake of the results of a survey on access to care, conducted as part of our Working Group on access to a doctor and cessation of practice. Some 2,700 doctors responded, along with 1,100 members of the public. The survey revealed that the Quebec population felt that it did not have access to the health network within a reasonable time.
Disturbing fact: nearly one in two respondents even claimed to have given up consulting a healthcare professional, convinced of the impossibility of obtaining an appointment.
Worrying findings
According to a large number of physicians and several user committees met, a person will not have the same access to basic or specialized care within an acceptable geographic radius, depending on the region where they are located. In fact, the managers of the CISSSs and CIUSSSs struggle to offer, in the hospitals of the same territory, uniform access to care, with the same staffing coverage. Alas, this is another form of two-tier medicine.
The dilapidated state of the infrastructure is a hindrance to the attraction of personnel, the lack of which is sorely felt everywhere. This situation prevails as much in the regions as in the major centres. In addition, the network is slow to adapt to demographic issues, in particular the aging and displacement of the population. The population component is also outdone in places, with marked difficulty in accessing mental health care and home care. It is about the social responsibility of the network towards the community it serves.
Stressful situations for patients and doctors
On a daily basis, physicians in the regions are faced with heartbreaking choices and great distress when they realize, for example, that no cardiologist will be available overnight in their establishment and that the regional emergency department is almost exposed.
Furthermore, for patients, there are too many changes in the establishments, and it is difficult to establish a lasting bond with a particular health professional. Each time, we start from scratch, we tell our story anew.
A seat
And yet, if the network is holding up, despite the shortage of staff, the state of the infrastructure and the waiting lists, it is because of the great commitment of the staff to caring for the public. We have seen this everywhere and the user committees have expressed it to us. This is the foundation on which we must rely to make care more accessible to citizens, regardless of where they are in Quebec.
The College of Physicians of Quebec will continue its tour, particularly in the Far North. In the meantime, his report is accessible.