“There’s a line not to be crossed, and right now they’re crossing it.”
Quebec medical specialists are urging the provincial government to halt budget cuts to direct health services, saying the cuts are already undermining patient care.
The Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec (FMSQ), which represents approximately 11,000 specialist doctors, has described the cuts as unacceptable and poorly planned.
“Any cut that reduces access to services is unacceptable,” said FMSQ president Dr. Vincent Oliva in a statement. “We are calling for an immediate moratorium on cuts affecting patient services until a complete and rigorous analysis has been carried out.”
Oliva also took aim at previous assurances from Health Minister Christian Dubé that the impact of the cuts would be minimal.
Now, however, the FMSQ says patient care is already being affected — an outcome health-care unions in Quebec had raised warnings about for months.
“There’s a line not to be crossed, and right now they’re crossing it,” FMSQ vice-president Dr. Serge Legault told The Gazette. “If they continue like this, there’s going to be damage for the patients. It’s inevitable.”
Legault pointed to waiting lists as the most pressing concern. More than 160,000 patients are awaiting surgeries, while 800,000 are waiting for consultations with specialists.
“These numbers are mind-staggering,” he said. “If they keep treating their financial worries on the backs of patients, it cannot improve.”
When pressed on which hospitals are facing the most strain, Legault did not specify but said that care is adversely affected across the province.
The FMSQ is calling for these immediate measures:
- A moratorium on cuts to direct services until a full evaluation is conducted.
- Rigorous analysis of each budget reduction to assess its impact on care quality and access.
- Transparent communication with the public regarding decisions and their consequences.
Health minister pushes back
Dubé, however, has rejected the FMSQ’s approach and accused the federation of prioritizing doctors’ financial interests over patient care.
“I’m happy to see that we have the same concern for patients, though we do not have the same solution,” Dubé told reporters on Thursday.
“I will be very, very clear here: What the doctors are asking at the moment during the negotiation is more money, and I want this money to go for the patients,” he said. “So what I’m asking from the FMSQ is to sit down and negotiate seriously, to ensure that we find solutions together.”