The Quebec government and the Federation of General Practitioners of Quebec (FMOQ) have reached an agreement on the front-line access window (GAP).
The details of the new agreement, announced at the end of the day Thursday, are not yet known. The FMOQ will share them with its members on Friday noon.
“The progress we have made with the bridge agreement for the GAP will make it possible to maintain certain important principles, such as collective registration, while facilitating better access,” affirmed the office of Minister of Health Christian Dubé in a written statement.
Patients registered with a group of family doctors can therefore “be reassured,” according to the President of the Treasury Board, Sonia LeBel. This agreement “will make it possible to maintain care for more than 900,000 patients and ensure that they are seen.” “The work is not finished,” she said in a written statement. Now, we will devote our energy to negotiating the renewal of the framework agreement. »
The president of the FMOQ, Dr. Marc-André Amyot, for his part, described the agreement as “positive” for orphaned and collectively cared for patients who must go through GAP triage to obtain a medical appointment.
“We would have liked the previous agreement to continue,” he said in an interview with La Presse. For the population, for the organization of services, we are happy. But there are always issues that we face. »
The famous $120 bonus was at the heart of the negotiations between Quebec and the FMOQ. Until June 1, family doctors were entitled to an amount of $120 when they saw an orphan patient or one in collective care during a consultation offered through the GAP.
Will the premium remain? Dr. Amyot did not want to answer this question “out of respect for his members” who have not yet been informed on this subject.
During an afternoon press briefing, the president of the FMOQ indicated that a reduction in the amount of $120 was “part of the ongoing discussions.” This bonus was used to “hire staff, rent premises to be able to accommodate more patients”, he recalled.
In an interview with La Presse, Dr. Amyot said he was “disappointed” with certain elements of the new bridging agreement. The previous agreement increased the remuneration of doctors practicing in sectors such as CHSLDs and home care. “So that doctors who work in CHSLDs don’t say, I’m going to do GAP, we had balanced remuneration,” he explains. This aspect has not been prioritized by the government. » Their bonus disappears and will be re-discussed during the negotiations of the framework agreement.
Many patients were waiting for the outcome of these negotiations. Since June 1, the number of medical appointments offered through GAP has dropped drastically. According to the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS), 5,841 medical consultations were available at GAP as of June 6 for the week of the 15th. Quebec usually has between 18,000 and 23,000 per week.
According to groups of emergency physicians, more Quebecers without a family doctor have recently been going to the emergency rooms of certain hospitals because they were unable to get a medical appointment at the GAP.
In a press scrum at the Palais des congrès de Montréal on Thursday morning, Minister Christian Dubé acknowledged that “at the moment, the emergency is unfortunately the alternative that many people are taking.” “But when we call the GAP, people can be referred to a pharmacist – you have seen how we have extended the services – they can go to a CLSC where a specialized nurse practitioner can also take care of them,” he said. -he indicates.
After the conclusion of the bridge agreement, Minister Dubé’s office thanked the family doctors who continued to see GAP patients during the negotiations.
