'Major crisis': Québec reaches out to retired doctors to fill jobs in long term care homes

A resident walks along a corridor at Idola Saint-Jean long-term care home in Laval, Que., Friday, February 25, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Citing "a major crisis" in residential and long-term care centers (CHSLDs), Quebec is calling on retired physicians in the Greater Montreal area to step up to the plate.

In the hope of meeting the care needs of patients in CHSLDs, the Ministry of Health, the Collège des médecins du Québec (CMQ) and the Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec have agreed to allow retired physicians to return to practice under certain conditions.

To be eligible for re-registration with the CMQ, a physician must have ceased practicing for less than three years. The reason for retirement must not be related to an agreement with the CMQ or to a quality issue in the practice of medicine.

Candidates are also required to have practical experience relevant to the care of patients in CHSLDs, i.e., long-term care for geriatric patients.

Finally, retired physicians wishing to return to service must contact a healthcare institution to obtain an attestation "confirming a position to be filled in a CHSLD," as stated in a press release issued Tuesday by the Collège des médecins.

In order to simplify the process for interested professionals, the CMQ has put a form online that can be easily transmitted by e-mail. The college has undertaken to "carry out the necessary verifications" and submit "the list of physicians qualifying for this program."

Physicians who return to practice through this program will regain their right to practice medicine until March 31, 2024.

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This report was first published in French by The Canadian Press on June 13, 2023.