Hundreds of doctors in Quebec are protesting their salary increases, saying they already earn too much money. Nearly 900 doctors, residents and medical students in the Canadian province signed an online petition this Monday (12) demanding the cancellation of their salary increases. A group called Quebec Doctors for the Diet (MQRP)which represents Quebec doctors and lawyers in public health, launched the petition on February 25.

“We, Quebec doctors who believe in a strong public system, oppose the recent salary increases negotiated by our medical federations,” indicates the petition written in French.

The doctors’ group said it could not, in good conscience, accept salary increases while working conditions remained difficult for other professionals in the same field – notably nurses and care assistants – and that patients “could live with lack of access to services due to causes of drastic cuts [na saúde] these last years”.

In recent months, a Quebec nurses’ union has led the government to confront a shortage of nursing professionals, who are fighting for a law limiting the number of patients that can be cared for by a single nurse. According to the union, professionals were overworked and organized several peaceful protests to promote better working conditions.

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Criticism on the networks

In January, the situation was summed up in a viral Facebook post by a nurse named Émilie Ricard, who posted a photo of herself with tears in her eyes after what she called grueling work. Ricard said she is the only nurse caring for more than 70 patients in the hospital where she works. She was so stressed that she had cramps that prevented her from sleeping.

“This is the face of nursing,” Ricard wrote, criticizing Quebec Health Minister Gaétan Barrette, who called recent changes to the health system a success.

“I don’t know where you get your information from, but it does not represent the reality of nursing,” the nurse wrote. She then added: “I am heartbroken for my profession, I am ashamed of the poverty of the care I provide to the best of my ability. My health system is sick and moribund.”

Ricard’s message has already been shared more than 55,000 times.

“There is always money for doctors, but what about the others who treat patients? “, declared Nancy Bédard, president of the Quebec Nurses Union.

Salary

At the same time, in February, the Federation of Specialist Physicians of Quebec reached an agreement with the government to increase the annual salaries of the province’s 10,000 specialist doctors by approximately 1.4%, or $4.7 billion for 5, 4 billion US dollars in 2023, as reported by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Canada’s public television network. The average salary of a specialist in Quebec is already high — $403,537 per year — compared to the $367,154 paid to doctors in the neighboring province of Ontario.

“The only thing that seems immune to reductions [do sistema de saúde] these are our salaries,” says the petition from MQRP, the doctors’ group.

“Contrary to the Prime Minister’s statements, we believe that there is a way to redistribute the resources of the Quebec health system to promote the health of the population and meet the needs of patients without putting pressure on workers.

The document ends by calling for the cancellation of salary increases and the redistribution of money throughout Quebec’s health system.

It is unclear what will happen to the petition. Barrette, the health minister, addressed the issue shortly after the initiative began. “If they think they are being paid too much, they can leave money on the table,” he said on February 26. “I assure you I can put it to good use.”

Barrette also said the issue of working conditions for medical staff, such as nurses, was a subject “that should get our full attention,” according to the Toronto Star. “We have the money to fix this,” he told the newspaper. “That doesn’t mean we have endless amounts of money, but we do have the ability to solve this problem once and for all.”