MONTREAL – Physicians like Dr. Paul Saba are furious after getting word of an additional $21 million in cuts in Quebec’s ailing health system.
“Patients are going to end up waiting longer and getting less care,” he said.
French daily newspaper La Presse reported Monday morning that Quebec’s health agency would give the chop to more than $100 million in expenses, most of those cuts will come from Montreal.
The agency wouldn’t comment to Global Montreal, but repeated on the phone the statement it gave the newspaper — the institutions in the system will have to implement “optimization measures” and do the best they can.
But on the ground level, some people fear it could have an effect on the province’s health system.
“All this is going to have impact on patient care,” Saba said. “People are going to wait longer, in the end they’re going to be sicker, and in the long-term it’s going to cost the government more.”
Saba thinks the province could save billions simply by switching to generic drugs. Currently, he said the system uses name brand medication the majority of the time.
Patients rights groups aren’t happy either.
Paul Brunet, chairperson of the Council for the Protection of Patients, said the province could spend its money more efficiently by cutting out bureaucracy instead of health care professionals.
“Let’s try to make some sense, I know it’s hard but they’re going to have to show what kinds of sacrifices they are ready to make,” he said.
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