If the agreement with the doctors expires under the previous Liberal government, more patients can be treated, François Legault argued on Tuesday, as the number of patients waiting has risen by 60% in four years.
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Four years ago, the number of Quebecers on the waiting list to access a family doctor or family doctor group (FMG) was approximately 480,000 people. Today almost 815,000 people are in this situation.
“At that time there were people who didn’t put their names on the list,” explained François Legault, who walked through Laval to present his Laval-des-Rapides candidate, Céline Haytayan.
The prime minister acknowledged that “there is still work to be done” but argued that the situation had actually improved during his tenure.
“When we arrived in October 2018, there were 6.4 million Quebecers who had access to a GP or FMG. Today there are 6.7 million. So there are 300,000 more people who have access to a GP, a GMF,” he said.
Mr Legault also believes his government’s hands are tied by the deal Philippe Couillard’s Liberals had with GPs, which expires in March 2023.
“Christian Dubé has managed to reopen this agreement in recent months, and we [en] Added 288,000 more who have access to a GP group.”
The agreement reached with the Federation of General Practitioners of Quebec (FMOQ) last May called for the care of 250,000 people by July 31. In the end, as of August 3, 288,709 Quebecers were registered.
The Prime Minister added that FMOQ has committed to serving 250,000 additional patients by March 31, 2023, after which the government will negotiate a new agreement with the Federation.
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