Returning from a four-day tour of Nunavik, the President of the College of Physicians, Dr.r Mauril Gaudreault, says he is “concerned about the fate reserved for the Aboriginal population of Nunavik and the conditions of practice of the doctors who work there”. He believes that “the status quo cannot last any longer”.
What there is to know
• The President of the College of Physicians, Dr.r Mauril Gaudreault, says he has seen the immense logistical challenges in providing care in Nunavik.
• Staff shortages are severe and the promised reinforcement has still not arrived.
• He invites the government, the leaders and the doctors to “assume their social responsibility” in the region.
“I found my stay both interesting and worrying […] I think that a special status should be granted to this region”, explains the Dr Gaudreault in interview.
The latter points out that Nunavik suffers from a serious shortage of healthcare personnel. Last summer, The Press had revealed that the regional health authorities were calling for army reinforcements to be able to treat the population.
After his visit to Kuujjuaq last week, the Dr Gaudreault wrote in a first newsletter to its members that “the reinforcement promised, after a desperate call to the army a few months ago, has still not arrived”.
Inapplicable ratios
The Dr Gaudreault believes that the nursing staff ratios that are applied everywhere in Quebec should not apply in Nunavik, where the context of practice is clearly not the same as elsewhere in the province.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, PRESS ARCHIVES
The President of the College of Physicians, Dr.r Mauril Gaudreault
The Dr Gaudreault recalls that the socio-medical issues of Nunavik “have no common measure with those found elsewhere in the province, with a life expectancy of a dozen years below the Quebec average, an infant mortality rate 6 times higher, a 10 times higher suicide rate and 300 times more cases of tuberculosis”.
In a new newsletter published on Friday, the Dr Gaudreault emphasizes that this context “stems directly from ‘structural’ determinants such as the vestiges of governance and colonial medicine” as well as “‘systemic’ determinants of health such as the infrastructures and services offered in the community” .
The President of the College of Physicians says he has seen the immense logistical challenges in providing care in Nunavik and the resulting consequences. A situation reported The Press in a survey published in January.
He says he wants to work so that “everything is done so that adequate human resources and medical equipment, which have been requested for many years, are quickly made available, taking into account factors other than simple administrative ratios”. For example, he believes that portable X-ray machines could be installed in several of the 14 villages of Nunavik.
Assume its social responsibility
For the Dr Gaudreault, doctors, government and leaders alike must “assume their social responsibility” towards Nunavik.
While family physicians and other health professionals are permanently present in the North, medical specialists “tend rather to visit the territory without being directly stationed there, treating patients who are transferred to them by plane in Montreal” , writes the Dr Gaudreault.
“Should Nunavik be given a special status? Should we get closer to its population by offering them more sustained specialized services? Should we review the criteria for allocating material and human resources in order to take into account the specificities of this territory and the psychosocial challenges of the peoples who inhabit it? These questions deserve serious reflection,” says Dr.r Gaudreault.
The Nunavik Health and Social Services Board (RSSSN) also asked to be excluded from Health Bill 15. But according to the Dr Gaudreault, concerns remain on the ground as to the impact he will have, and the question will have to be looked into. The Dr Gaudreault intends to use his influence to “ensure that Nunavik is not forgotten”.
In the office of the Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé, it is indicated that Nunavik “already has a special status by being part of the communities under agreement”. The RSSSN also has a separate status under the Health and Social Services Act. Minister Christian Dubé believes that one of the most pressing issues remains the shortage of personnel. The construction of 150 new housing units to accommodate health care workers was recently announced.
“As part of the collective agreement negotiations, we aim to have differentiated offers for this region,” explains the minister’s press attaché, Antoine de la Durantaye.