Doctors walk out of contract talks
NLMA says province won’t invest in recruitment, and is instead trying to sabotage the association
Finance Minister Siobhan Coady said she wasn’t expecting to see doctors announce they were walking away from contract negotiations Thursday, Oct. 14, but the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association (NLMA) says the government has not budged in 10 months.
“Negotiations for a new contract began 10 months ago. However, since that time the government has failed to produce any proposals to address the recruitment and retention problems of physicians, the family doctor shortage or the plight of 99,000 patients without a family doctor,” NLMA president Dr. Susan Macdonald said during a news conference Thursday afternoon.
Macdonald said the government has said unequivocally that the province will make no additions in the physician services budget to improve the province’s recruitment and retention problem.
“As if this weren’t enough, last month, the Department of Health advised the NLMA that it intends to change the Medical Act legislation to remove the requirement that physicians have to be members of the NLMA,” she said.
“This type of divide-andconquer tactic in the middle of negotiations is unethical and cannot be tolerated. We will not allow the government to destroy the unity of our membership as a cheap negotiating manoeuvre.”
SEPARATE MATTER
Speaking to reporters later in the day, Coady said the legislative changes are part of a separate consultation and include other groups as well.
“That’s a completely separate discussion than what we’re having on how do we improve our health-care system,” she said.
However, she could not name those other groups or why they were under review, and deferred further questions to the Department of Health.
“I think it’s very disappointing the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association has called into question our health care, especially when we’re at our most vulnerable because of the pandemic,” Coady said.
“We have been in active discussions and have been actively meeting with the NLMA over the last number of months on multiple issues under the renewal of their memorandum of agreement.”
Coady cited such topics as payment schedule review, blended payments and rural retention.
She said the government gave a detailed proposal to the association at the end of September, and that the government already spends about $500 million a year on the province’s 1,332 doctors.
When asked whether the province has refused to provide any new money for retention, Coady evaded the question.
“I think it’s very important that negotiations are between us, in talking to the NLMA,” she said. “We are talking about all these issues and things that happen under their agreement and things to improve our health care.”
Like Health Minister Dr. John Haggie did earlier in the week, however, Coady rejected the word “crisis” to describe the health-care situation in the province — including the fact that almost 100,000 patients in the province have no family doctor.
“I think that we all recognize that there are pressures within health care. It’s not just Newfoundland and Labrador. There are pressures within health care. We are in the midst of a pandemic. There are pressures,” she said.
DOCTORS BURNING OUT
Coady said there are new doctors entering the field in Newfoundland and Labrador, on a regular basis, something that doesn’t fit with the evidence presented by the NLMA president.
“Too many members are burning out due to workforce vacancies and an inappropriate on-call burden that is unsustainable and hampering recruitment efforts,” Macdonald told reporters. “Doctors are moving away, taking jobs in provinces that are competitive and where government is welcoming.”
Doctors have been without a new contract for four years.
NLMA CEO and chief negotiator Robert Thompson said Thursday they met with Haggie and Coady after getting nowhere through regular channels.
“Again, we were told no investment available, so we had nowhere to go,” he said. “Major problems can’t be addressed unless there’s some breakthrough at that level, and there wasn’t.”
Macdonald said she has cancelled her president’s tour of regions throughout the province, and the association will consult with its membership to decide on next steps.
“This is a real impasse, and we need to see a breakthrough,” Thompson said.
Opposition Interim Leader David Brazil held a short availability after the NLMA news conference to say he’s appalled at the development.
“This is a dark day for health care in Newfoundland and Labrador. It’s a dark day for negotiating in good faith, and it’s a dark day for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador who felt that government would find avenues to improve health services in this province,” Brazil said.
He said he doesn’t understand the government’s fiscal logic.
“As we know, the more people’s health deteriorates, the more costly it is for the taxpayers of Newfoundland and Labrador. So, you’ve got to be proactive in what you do here,” he said.
“People should be alarmed.”