The shortage of medical staff in Montérégie-Ouest has a real impact on healthcare professionals
The Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec – FIQ and the Syndicat des professionnelles en soins de Montérégie-Ouest (FIQ – SPS de Montérégie-Ouest) are speaking up about the daily impacts of the medical staff shortage on their members. The last weeks have been particularly difficult for healthcare professionals in Montérégie-Ouest who have been putting themselves in danger to provide patients with care.
“Regardless of whether healthcare professionals are working in the emergency department or care units, current practice conditions do not enable them to guarantee the provision of quality care,” lamented Francine Savoie, President of the FIQ-SPS in Montérégie-Ouest. “This was foreseeable, she explained. There has been a shortage of general practitioners for over a year in the Suroît region. Patients lay on stretchers in the hall when there could be beds available!”
“It is crucial that Minister Barrette take immediate action,” said FIQ Vice-President Nathalie Lévesque. “This was foreseeable considering the shortage of doctors in the region and the penalties doctors face under Bill 20.”
The FIQ and SPS in Montérégie-Ouest urge the Minister to implement immediate measures to repair this situation. “If he doesn’t take immediate action, he is endangering the public’s and our members’ health,” said Ms. Lévesque.