Montreal City Weblog

Kate 15:09 on 2020-10-09 Permalink Reply  

• Kevin 16:56 on 2020-10-09 Permalink

  The PREM is one of the stupidest things ever devised.

  The goal is admirable, but to make it work a government would have to discriminate against the entire population of the province.

• Ephraim 17:45 on 2020-10-09 Permalink

  So basically, if you live near a hospital, don’t expect to be able to find a family doctor. Which explains why it took me 5 years to find one. And eventually he will retire and I’ll be stuck again.

• Kevin 23:12 on 2020-10-09 Permalink

  Ephraim
  But ‘near’ in the gerrymandered sense. Senneville is right next to St. Mary’s hospital in the PREM system

• JaneyB 10:09 on 2020-10-10 Permalink

  That system is absurd. It needs to be overhauled.

  Side note: When I moved here from Ontario, I found a family doctor by making 3 phone calls. The first was to the CLSD to ‘get on a list’ – as friends recommended. (Those friends are still on that list a decade later, incidentally). I immediately realized no one ever gets off that ‘list’ so I phoned the clinics in my neighbourhood and asked if they were taking new patients and if not, did they know anyone who was. I had a fine doctor and an appointment with him within a week. I lived in CDN. If you’re waiting for years, you’re doing it wrong. Get yourself on the phone.

• Kate 10:30 on 2020-10-10 Permalink

  I did get a doctor by being on the list, for about five years, but the curious thing is that I’ve yet to meet him. I’m seen by his nurse practitioner, whom I like, maybe once a year. I suppose I’m fortunate that there’s nothing wrong enough with me that I need a doctor for.

• MarcG 11:36 on 2020-10-10 Permalink

  Obviously this is not a solution to the system failure, but if you go to walk-in clinics for your health problems because you don’t have a family doctor, ask the secretary if they have any openings next time you’re there, you might get lucky like I did.

• Ephraim 11:37 on 2020-10-10 Permalink

  Kevin, I live “walking distance: from CHUM, the Royal Vic/Neuro, Notre Dame and if you push it, the General as well. That’s a lot of doctors… and yet I was on the government list for 5 years until I found a doctor via a friend… otherwise I would still be waiting.

  I wonder, how quickly this would be fixed if the government had to actually manage that everyone get an annual physical and if they didn’t, actually had to start paying back your medicare taxes for failure to provide basic services.

• Kevin 13:53 on 2020-10-10 Permalink

  Here’s the current PREM allocation list
  https://www.msss.gouv.qc.ca/professionnels/medecine-au-quebec/prem/besoins-prioritaires-region-06/

  You’ll note the region called Cote des Neiges Metro Park Extension, with 14 hospitals (even if the bureaucrats think the Royal Vic is still on the side of Mount Royal :/ ) gets 10 family doctors.
  [I’ve been told that ER docs count as family doctors for PREM purposes ]

  RDP-Anjou-Montreal East gets 14 doctors for its 3 clinics or wherever else they want to practice in that territory.

  I mean, it sounds impressive to say Montreal gets 98 doctors, until you realize how they’re distributed in penny packets — and that the Monteregie gets 84, similarly split up.

• jeather 14:58 on 2020-10-10 Permalink

  If you get seriously ill enough, your specialist will act as a supercharged family doctor. I don’t recommend this, though.

• Joey 15:00 on 2020-10-10 Permalink

  Note that the provincial auditor-general came down hard on the management of the province’s CPE (daycare) waitlist, as most of the CPEs don’t seem to be using it and run their own parallel waitlists, even if the provincial list apparently allows them to establish their own criteria (age, location, etc.). This province has a significant problem managing access to “universal” services.