Quebec doctors get bonus for punctuality

Quebec’s health minister says he is “scandalized” that surgeons and anesthesiologists get bonuses just for arriving at work by 8 o’clock in the morning.

But Gaétan Barrette said Friday he can’t do anything about the policy because the money comes out of an overall budget and it is up to doctors to determine how it is spent.

Barrette was head of the federation representing specialist doctors in 2010 when the deal was struck.

Le Journal de Montréal reported Friday that the province’s surgeons and anesthesiologists shared $86.1 million over the past three years for getting to work on time in the morning and staying later in the afternoon.

That translates into an average of more than $19,500 a year for anesthesiologists and more than $7,500 for surgeons — or $105 a shot for morning duty.

The practice also extends to surgeries that occur between 3 and 7 p.m., when there is a bonus of $84 an hour, the newspaper said.

The bonuses are aimed at ensuring operating rooms are up and running early in the morning.

Jean-François Courval, the head of the federation that represents the province’s anesthesiologists, said the incentive to arrive by 8 a.m., as well as to stay beyond 3 p.m., has led to a spike in the number of operations conducted in the province.