It is as presidents of three medical associations, but above all in support of our colleagues, radiology, radiation oncology and nuclear medicine technologists, that we write this letter. We speak out in solidarity with our colleagues who leave the public health system for lack of recognition. The shortage of technologists leaves room for an alarming situation in our departments as well as in several of the centres. This is why we wish to insist on the urgency of this issue.
Just over 20 years ago, people with cancer had to be treated in the United States, away from their families, due to a shortage of radiation oncology technologists. Last summer, a lack of these same technologists caused service disruptions in a few radiation oncology centers in the Outaouais, which resulted in a reorganization of service corridors and the displacement of patients outside their region.
Today, as the province prepares for the summer season, some Quebec women will see their appointments for their annual breast cancer screening exam postponed. This is particularly the case at the Maniwaki hospital where there are currently more than 800 requests pending, while the service is interrupted for an indefinite period in Minganie. Patients affected by the glaring lack of technologists will therefore have to travel further afield for a simple mammogram that will reassure them, or to receive an early diagnosis.
At the Outaouais integrated health and social services center (CISSS), the situation is even more worrying: the medical imaging service of the CLSC Petite-Nation had to close entirely.
The shortage is likely to worsen, as more than a third of technologists plan to leave the public sector in the next year. Our health system has lost many technologists in recent months to other provinces and fields other than health.
Their working conditions are insufficient: the current system is not able to keep them with patients and attract the necessary replacements to meet the needs of the province.
And Quebec as a whole must be alerted.
From screening to treatment: a technologist-patient journey
Technologists are the healthcare professionals who provide rapid care, accurate diagnoses and effective treatments. Much more than a reassuring presence, they operate the various devices needed to make a diagnosis (X-ray, ultrasound, MRI, scintigraphy, etc.) within the required timeframe. Similarly, technologists support and administer cancer treatments in the radiation oncology department.
Without technologists, tens of thousands of radiology and nuclear medicine examinations cannot be performed and hundreds of radiotherapy treatments cannot be administered.
In recent years, technologists have been called upon to keep the network at arm’s length. However, their contribution has not been recognized commensurate with their efforts. Unlike other health professionals, few of them received a bonus thanking them for their presence during the pandemic; few of them got the praise they deserve. We understand them to be exhausted and disillusioned.
In the immediate future, it is essential that the health network recognize these professionals as a strong link in the multidisciplinary teams, and that it act accordingly. At this stage, however, it will not be enough: the education network will have to make more efforts to promote their profession and attract new technologists to the school benches. This profession is too important for society as a whole and the future of the Quebec health care system – it is urgent to give it back its acclaim!
* Association of Radiologists of Quebec, Association of Medical Specialists in Nuclear Medicine of Quebec and Association of Radiation Oncologists of Quebec