A group of Ontario doctors says it did not have a seat at the table when the province negotiated a tentative four-year agreement with the Ontario Medical Association (OMA), which represents Ontario physicians.
“Physicians were angry to hear about the proposed contract from the media rather than the OMA and before even having the opportunity to study the details of this tentative agreement,” said the group Concerned Doctors of Ontario, in a press release.
The press release said that while the Liberals are willing to fund 2.5 per cent growth in the patient services physicians deliver, the Financial Accountability Office has said they must increase funding by 5.2 per cent to maintain the status quo for health-care services.
“So this 2.5 per cent is not a raise,” the press release said. “It is not even a wage freeze. It is a cut to existing patient services. Any overage of the budget will be taken out of physician pay in an unpredictable fashion – this will force clinics teetering on the brink of closure right over the edge. This will only further increase wait-times and decrease access to essential services.”
In a press release announcing the tentative agreement, the provincial government said it would help create a more sustainable health-care system for the future, allow for the addition of new doctors each year, fortify the Primary Care Guarantee for patients and support the realignment of physician compensation around valued mutual priorities and services.
