Waitlists for Quebec specialists have nearly one million patients as system struggles to keep up

Quebec’s waitlist to see a medical specialist has nearly doubled in five years.

The number of Quebecers waiting to see a medical specialist has nearly doubled in the past five years, with more than 900,000 people now on a growing waitlist that health officials admit is spiraling out of control.

“I feel for the patients, mostly. And I think that’s what all doctors feel, which is we’d love to see those patients,” said Dr. Rafik Ghali of the Federation of Quebec Medical Specialists.

He explained that when a request for a consultation is submitted, the patient’s condition is graded by priority. Each grade has a maximum delay before the patient must be seen, which can range from three days to up to a year.

Out of the more than 900,000 currently on a waitlist, nearly two-thirds have seen their deadline come and go.

“Those are patients who have minor ailments. You can wait three months or a year. Unfortunately, that usually means you can wait a little longer,” Ghali added.

Santé Québec said there are many reasons for the growing waitlist, including an aging population, which means more patients with more complicated cases.

Additionally, the agency said there aren’t enough specialists available.

Ghali noted that with budget cuts and shorter clinic hours, the system is unable to meet the demand.

“We’re still seeing a lot of patients. What the medical specialists want to do is see the patients that are there. But it has become untenable,” he said.

Paul Brunet, a patient’s rights advocate with the Council for the Protection of Patients, said some quick fixes could be put in place now.

“A lot of specialists have gone private, and one of the solutions that apparently works in Ontario is that you fix, by law, the rate — would it be private or public — so that we could use private specialists at the same rate to help us out,” Brunet said.