The Quebec government is expanding the bonus offered to medical imaging technologists in Outaouais, in order to curb their exodus to Ontario. It grants an annual lump sum of $22,000 to technologists at the Papineau Hospital, in Gatineau, and a sum of $18,000 to those at the Maniwaki Hospital.
The Alliance of Professional and Technical Personnel in Health and Social Services (APTS) has concluded an agreement with Quebec to increase the remuneration of medical imaging technologists from other sectors of Outaouais.
Since the end of April, only medical imaging technologists at Hull and Gatineau hospitals have benefited from the annual flat rate of $22,000 offered by Quebec. A salary “inequity”, according to the APTS, which has pushed professionals to leave their position in Papineau or Maniwaki hospitals to join the ranks of hospital centers in Hull or Gatineau.
“It shifted the problem,” says Christine Prégent, national representative of the APTS in Outaouais. Five technologists from Papineau – out of 12 – and one in Maniwaki have [dernièrement] obtained a position in Hull or Gatineau. »
The Papineau hospital is located about twenty kilometers from the Gatineau hospital. The Maniwaki establishment is further away from urban centers.
A 10% summer bonus
In addition to the annual lump sum, medical imaging technologists at the four hospitals will receive a 10% summer bonus. However, they will have to work more, i.e. 37.5 hours per week rather than 35.
Thanks to this two-year agreement, a technologist at the top of the salary scale in Outaouais will earn approximately the same salary as his counterpart in Ontario, or approximately $94,000, calculates the APTS.
The union deplores that these measures do not apply to technologists at the Pontiac Hospital in Shawville and the Wakefield Memorial Hospital. He fears a personnel movement.
Independent workforce
Faced with a serious labor shortage, the CISSS de l’Outaouais published a call for tenders on Friday to recruit medical imaging technologists and medical technologists from private personnel placement agencies.
The health establishment explains that the situation is “critical in several medical services” in the region “particularly in the medical imaging sector and laboratories”. “The occupancy rates for these positions are far from optimal, with only less than 56% of these positions filled for imaging technologists and less than 75% for laboratory technologists,” we wrote in an email. .
According to the CISSS, recent bonuses to hospitals in Hull and Gatineau made it possible to obtain new applications, “which allowed us to fill certain shifts”. “However, the situation remains precarious, so it is to ensure safe coverage of shifts that we are calling on independent labor,” we continue. The establishment reminds that laboratory technologists do not benefit from Quebec’s new measures.
Partial closure of the Forestville emergency
Staff shortage problems continue on the North Shore. Due to a lack of nurses, the Forestville emergency room will be closed between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m. from Friday June 14 to Monday 17, indicates the local CISSS. The health establishment advises the population “who needs to consult a doctor in the evening or at night” during this period to go to the nearest emergency room, either in Baie-Comeau or Les Escoumins. Ambulance services will remain available to respond to emergencies, he specifies.
What there is to know
- The Outaouais region is facing a significant shortage of medical imaging technologists who are fleeing to Ontario to obtain better pay.
- To retain these professionals from Outaouais in Quebec, the government offers them an annual lump sum of $22,000 or $18,000, depending on the hospital where they work.
- The situation being critical, the CISSS de l’Outaouais recently launched a call for tenders to recruit independent labor in this sector.