Quebec Health Minister misses all his targets for catching up on surgeries, says Liberal critic

Liberal health critic Andre Fortin says Premier François Legault must call Health Minister Christian Dubé to order, as he is missing all his objectives.

At a news briefing at the National Assembly on Wednesday, Fortin also criticized the “absence” of Dubé, who is now leaving it to the Santé Québec agency, which he created, to answer journalists' questions.

More than 10,000 Quebecers have been waiting for an operation for more than a year, as La Presse pointed out on Wednesday.

In May 2023, having missed his targets for 2021 and 2022, Dubé presented a third plan for catching up on surgeries, which was intended to reduce the number of patients waiting for surgery for more than a year to 2,500 by Dec. 31, 2024.

Serge Legault, vice-president of the Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec (FMSQ), told La Presse that there is “no chance” of the 2,500 target being reached in December because operating theatres are not operating at full capacity.

According to Santé Québec, operating theatres remain closed due to a lack of staff, such as respiratory therapists, nurse clinicians, auxiliary nurses and anaesthetists.

“What is Quebec doing to recruit and retain health-care staff?” asked Fortin on Wednesday, pointing out that the Ontario and New Brunswick governments are much more “aggressive” when it comes to recruitment.

For example, Fortin said Ontario officials are actually recruiting Quebec staff in the parking lots of health-care institutions.

“Where is the Quebec government's plan? (...) We're asking the Premier to look at his minister's record, then find a way to change the results, because Quebecers aren't getting value for their money,” said Fortin. “The minister's job is to improve results, and he fails every time.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Oct. 23, 2024.