The number of doctors practising in the private sector in Quebec has increased 70 per cent since 2020, according to the Health Ministry.
Quebec will table a law forcing family doctors and medical specialists trained in Quebec to work in the public system during the first years of their career, provincial Health Minister Christian Dubé announced on Sunday.
The minister did not specify how long the mandatory stay in the public sector would last.
“This trend is particularly marked among new doctors,” Dubé said in a statement without providing statistics.
“While there are still too many Quebecers waiting for care, too many doctors are deciding at the start of their career to leave the Quebec public sector. We will take measures so that Quebecers will have access to the care they pay for,” Dubé said in the statement.
“Our government has the courage to take all the measures necessary to strengthen the commitment of doctors toward the population of our public sector. This measure is part of a range of other means to strengthen our public network and attract professionals who will work there at the beginning of their careers.”
Dubé noted that training a doctor — including medical residency — costs taxpayers between $435,000 to $790,000. The number of spots to study medicine is limited.
“Of course there are many other things that can be done,” Senneville said. “We would like to see that there is no more back and forth between the private and public sectors. … But this is certainly a step in the right direction.”
Meanwhile, the Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec noted in an email that “the best way to keep medical specialists in the public sector is to give them the means to provide care.”
The fédération also stressed that Dubé’s announcement should not be limited to doctors, but extended to other health professionals who have been moving from the public to the private sector.