Now that the elections are over, the Federation of Medical Specialists of Quebec (FMSQ) is issuing a cry from the heart: the lack of resources in the health network is reaching a critical point. And it is first and foremost the patients who pay the price.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
“In 30 years of practice, I have never seen the network in such bad shape”, declares the Dr Vincent Oliva, president of the Federation of Medical Specialists of Quebec, in an interview with The Press.
In an open letter from the FMSQ, Dr.r Oliva as well as the Dr Serge Legault, vice-president of the FMSQ, denounces the lack of organization of the health network, the long waiting lists and the lack of resources. No less than 35 presidents of affiliated medical associations support their comments.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The Dr Serge Legault, vice-president of the Federation of Medical Specialists of Quebec
The examples are not lacking, say the associations together. According to them, specialist doctors frequently realize, the same morning, that the planned schedule is incomplete: “preoperative tests not carried out on time, cancellations due to lack of planning or missing equipment”, detail the specialists in the letter.
Affected in the first place, the patient then learns that his intervention will have to be postponed, often, without further details.
Patients don’t know how long it will take before they get care, which causes a lot of anxiety and uncertainty.
The Dr Vincent Oliva, president of the Federation of Medical Specialists of Quebec, in an interview with The Press
This is one of the many situations, among others, that the FMSQ deplores. “It happens too often. It shouldn’t happen. These are things that are predictable, that come from our ability to organize ourselves and manage better,” he says.
Patients shouldn’t have to wait months for medical care, he said. “There shouldn’t be waiting lists. It’s a concept we accept, but we have to question it. Waiting 6, 12 or 18 months for operations or for an appointment makes no sense,” he laments.
Technological delays
According to the Dr Oliva, it must be recognized that Quebec has a very significant technological delay in health. “The patient should be able to connect to an application that would clearly indicate when his appointment is,” he judges.
An example: the Québec Health Record (DSQ) platform would benefit greatly from being improved. “It’s complicated, it’s hard to connect,” he says, adding that patients often end up having to go get the results of their medical examinations themselves.
In the open letter, the specialists also deplore that certain patients, “in addition to the shock linked to the announcement of a diagnosis of cancer”, are forced to make their own requests to the archives of a hospital to facilitate the access to their complete medical file.
However, he is hopeful that Quebec will be able to catch up. “Medicine, in 10 years, will be practiced in a completely different way,” he says, referring in particular to the growing role of technology, telemedicine and artificial intelligence. But for this change to take place, “you have to be open to ideas and new ways of doing things,” he says.
Lack of humanity
According to the president, the dehumanization of care is very real, especially in particularly overloaded medical sectors such as emergencies. “It’s hard to be human when the patients are in the hallway. It is nice to be nice, it is not acceptable, ”he said.
When it’s been four times that we tell the patient that we are postponing his operation, it’s difficult to be human.
The Dr Vincent Oliva, president of the Federation of Medical Specialists of Quebec, in an interview with The Press
Specialist doctors proclaim it loud and clear: “We can’t get used to this dehumanization. “Healthcare professionals have not been trained to observe a patient bearing the burden of navigating and getting lost in a system that is supposed to care for them. A patient who has many other concerns than trying to navigate a maze of voicemail boxes. A patient that we want, first and foremost, to treat, ”they declare in the letter.
The Dr Oliva sends a message to the government: the focus must be on the patients. “If the patient is happy, the network is doing well,” he concludes.