By Trevor Greenway
Local Journalism Initiative
The head of a health watchdog group in the Outaouais says the region is facing two major problems – and both of them come down to money.
John Pigeon, president of SOS Outaouais, laid out these two issues during a 15-minute phone conversation with Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé last week and said, while he’s “cautious” about the government’s next steps, he is hopeful the province will address the region’s chronic underfunding and increase salaries to retain healthcare workers. SOS Outaouais is a health watchdog group comprised of community organizations and healthcare leaders.
“The first area is the fact that we’ve been historically under-financed in the region, and there needs to be actions taken to resolve this,” said Pigeon, referring to a nearly $200 million gap between healthcare funding in the Outaouais and other regions in Quebec. “The second item is salaries – salaries for healthcare workers.”
The Outaouais region went through a tumultuous summer in the healthcare sector, with multiple operating rooms in the Gatineau and Hull hospitals being shuttered and scanning technologists leaving the province for more money in Ontario.
The region lost several technicians to Ontario, where they can make up to $30,000 more per year. The Quebec government did eventually add bonuses for techs who stay in the region – $22,000 for technologists at hospitals in Hull, Gatineau and Papineau, and other bonuses of up to $18,000 for technologists in Maniwaki. Shawville and Wakefield employees were originally left out of the deal, however Gatineau MNA Robert Bussière announced that they would also receive the $18,000 bonus, but it was still $4,000 less than what employees in other hospitals received.
“If you don’t have technicians to operate those imagery departments, well, that’s where everything seems to go downhill,” added Pigeon. “But it’s beyond imagery technicians. This is affecting a lot of workers, including nurses. There are 1,200 nurses that are missing in our region, which is devastating when you just look at our surgery department.”
According to SOS Outaouais, the Gatineau Hospital’s emergency ward is currently working at 30 per cent capacity, while its surgery ward is only working at 25 per cent capacity, which is causing delays for patients in the region.
Pigeon said that Minister Dubé was “receptive” to the struggles facing the Outaouais but still doesn’t understand why the region is so chronically underfunded – a problem governments have been aware of since 2019, when the National Assembly passed a motion recognizing the unique situation of the Outaouais with its close proximity to Ottawa.
He said the region has always been in a “bubble” of the National Capital Region, where Quebec residents could seek care in either Ontario or Quebec with ease.
That is changing, according to Marcel Chartrand of health watchdog group Vigi Santé.
He said that with Quebec’s new centralized health network, Santé Québec, more and more Ontario hospitals are turning away Quebec patients, and it’s causing more delays.
He also argues that the province’s health overhaul will centralize Quebec’s health network and remove key decision-making roles from doctors and healthcare professionals working on the ground.
“Give the locals the power,” Chartrand previously told the Low Down.
While Pigeon was hoping for a thorough sit down with the health minister, his organization had to settle for a 15-minute phone call. He said that SOS hopes it will be the beginning of regular, constructive dialog on the region’s health crisis.