Quebec centralizes health services

Union argues the government is bleeding CLSCs

 

The province-wide movement criticizing cuts and changes to the public health system continues to grow. Launched by the CSN union, with its hundreds of thousands of health workers, the movement aims to end the transfer of resources from CLSC clinics, some going to the groupe de médecine de famille (GMF) clinics.

“There are many aspects to this campaign. Yes, there’s the transfer of resources from CLSCs to GMFs, but there’s also the centralization of labs, cuts to hospitals, making it difficult for staff to care for their patients, and a general lack of public consultation,” said Michel Quijada, CSN’s regional president.

 

“Staff is uneasy with all the changes (Bill 10, Bill 20, and modifications to GMFs), coupled with the lack of consultation. 

 

Health workers don’t know where they will end up,” said Quijada. “Workers are also wondering what will happen to services previously offered by the local CSSSs which are now centralized under city control. In Maniwaki, the Pontiac, and Petite-Nation, personnel don’t know what will happen. Will even more services be centralized to Gatineau? Our provincial campaign covers all of these concerns.” Citizens in the rural areas have also protested this loss of health
services.

“We are studying a campaign here in Outaouais, to start this September,” added Quijada. “We will organize protests in front of health facilities this fall.”

One goal of the campaign is to stop the transfer of resources from public CLSCs to private GMFs.

“Why are we allowing public workers to work for GMFs, which are privately run businesses, when we already have CLCSs? Why are we not attempting to rebuild CLSCs? Why is the government dismantling CLSCs and building something parallel? CLSC employees are autonomous, but when they work in a GMF, they depend on a physician and his practice,” added Quijada.

The first GMFs were launched over a dozen years ago with stringent frameworks permitting between 10 and 12 doctors each, with 15,000 registered patients. However, Health Minister Gaétan Barrette introduced new measures in the fall of 2015 to relax the management requirements of GMFs, under the guise of reducing red tape. The changes also modified the way GMFs are funded, make funds proportional to the number of registered patients, another barrier for the rural systems.

The changes were applauded by the Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec (FMOQ) president Louis Godin, although they are being protested by doctors actually working in the regions. Godin said he is pleased that staffing problems will be eased by directing recruits and other health professionals towards the GMFs.

Minister Barrette declared that with this new framework, the number of GMFs province-wide would increase from 250 to 300 and ultimately allow more Quebecers to have their own family doctor. At present. the changes are threatening the operation of rural CLSCs and even pressuring the rural GMFs to expand their patient loads significantly. So seeing their own family doctor may actually become less likely, commented one Pontiac doctor to the Bulletin.