The health status quo is no longer tenable. We need a reform, a real one. Not a “Third World War”, as former Health Minister Gaétan Barrette rightly fears.
True, the unions of nurses and medical specialists are likely to rush into the stretchers when the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, presents this week his bill to create Health Quebec and improve the efficiency of the network.
But by voting for the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) in the last election, Quebecers gave him a clear mandate to try to restore the health care system, when so many others had failed before him.
In recent decades, if successive governments have all broken their teeth, it is because of lobbies that hold the equivalent of a veto allowing them to block reforms. The union of medical specialists is at the very top of the list, shows scientific research.1
The result is pathetic: costs rise and care suffers.
This year again, Quebec will increase by 7.7% the health envelope, which now monopolizes 43% of the budget. This atrophies the other missions of the State, such as Justice, whose funding will melt by 2.2%, even if the system falls into ruin.
Despite all the money spent on it, the health care system is almost on the brink of collapse. Since the pandemic, the problems of access to care and the distress of nursing staff have never been greater. And the pressure will increase with the aging of the population.
In short, this has to change. Courage ! The stagnation has lasted long enough.
In this first year of his mandate, the Minister of Health must not miss the opportunity to defeat the corporatism that is bogging down the health network.
Its reform is crucial for Quebec. Everyone has to pitch in. Fortunately, we feel that the minister has allies.
For example, the College of Physicians was a major player in the agreement reached with family physicians in May 2022.
It was the College that proposed the compromise of providing a team of professionals for each Quebecer, rather than a family doctor as the CAQ had initially promised. Since then, 525,000 orphan patients have been taken care of, beyond the objective.
This is proof that collaboration can bear fruit.
It is the turn of medical specialists to make their contribution. Minister Dubé’s bill will give them a “population responsibility”, which will force them to practice in certain neighborhoods and certain regions, as is the case with family doctors, our columnist Francis Vailles revealed on Monday.2
It’s essential. Right now, care varies greatly from one region to another, which poses a serious problem of equity between patients.
We also need to review the rules for nurses.
Yes, we want to eliminate “compulsory overtime” (TSO) which exhausts nurses. Yes, we want to wean the network of private placement agencies that siphon resources from the network.
But then, who will do the unfavorable hours? People aren’t just sick Monday to Friday, 9 to 5.
In Mauricie and Centre-du-Québec, where the situation is critical, we have found an equitable solution: ask all nurses to work at least one weekend out of three. But boom! Immediately, the union said it was outraged.3
This does not bode well for Minister Dubé’s little revolution, who wants to cut through the spaghetti of collective agreements (four different agreements in each of the 34 regions for a total of 134 work contracts!) in order to standardize working conditions across the province. .
This will allow a nurse to go and work in another region that is understaffed without losing all her seniority. But also to receive bonuses if she goes to a remote area or if she works at unfavorable hours.
Everything has a price. Employment agencies have understood this well. Christian Dube too.
His broad goals are good, though the details of his bill will certainly draw constructive criticism. Please, let’s work together for everyone’s health, instead of going to war to defend corporate interests.