NLMA, government continue public spat over stalled contract talks

For the second time inas many weeks the union that represents doctors in Newfoundland and Labrador and the provincial government are engaging in a war of wordsthrough the media.

On Tuesday, the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association invited the media to its St. John's headquarters to provide an update on the decision to suspend contract talks with government.

"The NLMA is calling on government of Newfoundland and Labrador to get serious about recruitment and retention of physicians and the plight of 99,000 patients without a family doctor," said NLMA president Dr. Susan MacDonald.

After four years without a contract, and 10 months of negotiations on a new one, the NLMAcalled off the latest round of contract talks earlier this monthand said it intended to ask its membership what the association should do next.

Through a series of town hallsOct. 19-21, MacDonaldsaid, the association determined 99 per centof its membership supported the decision to walk away from the table and94 per centwantto stay awayuntil the provincial government commits to "meaningful improvement."

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During Tuesday's media briefing, MacDonald told stories she'sheard from exhausted doctors about people stopping them in public, or reaching out to them on social media, begging to be taken onas patients.

"Physician morale is at an all-time low," MacDonald said. "I've never seen physicians this despondent and fed up as I have now, and I've been here for 23 years."

MacDonald reiterated the NLMA'sdemand that N.L. doctors' salaries bebrought in line with the rest of Atlantic Canada, and said the province's family doctors are the lowest paid in Canada.

TheNLMA will conduct a formal vote on Nov. 4 to accept or reject the government's offer.- Dr. Susan MacDonald

The NLMA also claims the provincial government is trying toweakenitby changing the Medical Act, which would mean practising doctors wouldn't be required to be members.

MacDonaldsaiddoctors are putting their patients first and providing the best care possible but it isn't easy.

"I'm hearing about resignations every day across this province," she said. "Every time somebody puts in a resignation .that is a single physician saying, 'I've had enough.'"

Shortly after the NLMA'snews conference, the provincial governmentheld its own media availability.

Finance Minister Siobhan Coadystarted by praising the province's health-care workers andtheir work during the COVID-19 pandemic, and then said she's"very disappointed"that the NLMA has no plans to return to the negotiating table.

"We're prepared at any moment to sit down with them to go through to review the concerns that they have."

Coady said she doesn't know what the NLMA means by"meaningful improvement" as a condition for returning to negotiations.

"I think I've been very clear in the media that we recognize the challenges with the fee for service family physicians and are willing to address them," she said.

"We just need to get to a place where we can actually have a dialogue and a conversation on how best to move forward."

While the NLMA calls the doctor shortage a crisis, the provincial government does not.

"I understand those levels of stress," said Health Minister John Haggie said, citing his own 35-year medical career in Newfoundland and Labrador.

He acknowledged it can bedifficult to access care in rural parts of the province, a problem starting to increase in the metro St. John's area as well.

"I think that's what you're seeing driving a lot of the discussion now," Haggie said. "Access is my focus and that's the focus of these negotiations."

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MacDonald said the NLMA will vote on the province's contract offerNov. 4 but wouldn't speculate on what might happen if the offer is rejected.

"We haven't taken a formal vote about striking, so that's not something that I'm speaking to," she said. "But it is still a possibility."

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