The CAQ does not have the mandate to take away Quebecers' doctors, warns the opposition

Photo: Francis Vachon Le Devoir “Those who are not vulnerable could become so if they do not have follow-up, screening or access to the front lines,” said PQ member Joël Arseneau.

Patrice Bergeron – The Canadian Press in Quebec City

Published at 3:57 p.m.

• Quebec City

A patient care scenario studied by the Legault government is causing fear and concern.

Healthy Quebecers would thus lose their registration with a family doctor and 1.5 million appointment slots would be taken away from them to be assigned to vulnerable patients.

This is one of the hypotheses submitted by the Institut national d’excellence en santé et en services sociaux (INESSS), in a study on the front line made public this week.

The Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé, assures that he is not ready to advance on one scenario or another, but the opposition parties demand clear answers on behalf of the millions of Quebecers who could lose their family doctor.

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“The Coalition avenir Québec does not have the mandate to deregister millions of Quebecers who already have a family doctor and who, today, find themselves with the prospect of losing this follow-up, losing this access and continuing to pay for a system that does not provide basic services to the population,” denounced PQ MNA Joël Arseneau, in an interview with La Presse canadienne Friday morning.

“Christian Dubé absolutely must clarify his position,” urged Liberal MNA André Fortin in a telephone interview.

“Is this a trial balloon or is this really the scenario he is considering today?? He will have to make decisions. »

Like Mr. Arseneau, Mr. Fortin maintains that Minister Dubé never asked Quebecers for a mandate to remove their family doctor.

He recalled that the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) had instead committed to assigning a family doctor to each Quebecer who wanted one.

The Liberal MP acknowledges that the 500,000 vulnerable Quebecers who do not have a family doctor must obtain one as a “priority” — he even stood up in the House to demand this on Thursday — but according to him, “there is a way to prioritize them without telling everyone else: ‘you don’t need one.’”

Risky for healthy people

In addition, this option also carries a risk for healthy populations, Mr. Arseneau pointed out.

“Those who are not vulnerable could become so if they do not have follow-up, screening or access to front-line care. Do we want a healthy society with periodic monitoring to avoid getting sick? ? »

For its part, the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) believes that this is giving a “gift to the private sector,” since patients who no longer have access to a family doctor will have to turn to private clinics.

“It is much too early to make any predictions about any scenario proposed by experts,” reacted Minister Dubé through the X network.

“We are in a negotiation period with the Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens [FMOQ] and we will not make any further comments,” he added.

The Canadian Press requested an interview with the FMOQ.