Modernization of the Professional Code: the FIQ fears for the protection of patients

If the Interprofessional Health Federation of Quebec (FIQ) has been more discreet since it received the conciliator’s proposed agreement as part of its negotiations with Quebec, one of its recently published memoirs once again highlights guards the government against “excessive flexibility”.

This time, the federation, which represents 80,000 nurses, refers to Bill 67, aimed at decompartmentalizing professional practices in the health network. She fears that the government seeks to modify the regulations of professional orders to respond to labor problems.

This legislation, currently under study, modifies the Professional Code. One of the provisions provides that in an emergency situation, the minister may authorize a professional order to issue special authorizations to carry out professional activities usually reserved for members.

There are urgent situations every day in the health network. Could the simple lack of personnel lead us to make decisions and bypass the entire professional system?

There FIQ expresses concern about the protection of the public and asks to define the concept of emergency so that it is indeed a health emergency.

If we give this power to managers to change the rules which constitute a field of expertise, for example, what a nurse or a doctor can do in the name of an urgent situation, that is where it there could be slippage. It must be well framed and definedpleads the vice-president of the FIQ.

This argument is reminiscent of the one that the union repeats regarding the mobility of nurses, in the context of the present negotiation of the renewal of the collective agreement. There FIQ also calls for clear guidelines to govern movements from one establishment to another, which respect the skills of its members.

What is a urgent situation?

The Order of Nurses of Quebec (OIIQ) shares certain apprehensions of the FIQ about this.

From the outset, we note that no definition is provided for an “emergency situation”, which leaves room, in our opinion, for an interpretation that is too broadly discretionary. […] We are wondering whether a shortage of professionals could be qualified as an “emergency situation”we can read in the professional order’s brief.

The Order says concerned by the fact that this power of the minister could be exercised to deprofessionalize certain professional activities, while the shortage could be solved otherwise.

L’OIIQ is based on a memorandum presented to the Council of Ministers which underlines that this mechanism would make it possible to meet labor needs when a strong demand for the exercise of professional activities reserved for members of a professional order results from the emergency situation.

The government has a dual role as legislator and employer. We have the impression that the legislator is passing the palette over to the employer’s side to achieve his ends.

More than fifty memories were sent to us. They will all be taken into consideration. We are currently analyzing the commentsindicates the office of Minister Sonia LeBel.

A generally well-received bill

For its part, the Order of Nurses still welcomes with enthusiasm Bill 67. He judges that the expansion of certain professional practices can improve access to care.

The Public Protector also believes that its adoption will not only optimize the functioning of the first line of care, but also make mental health diagnoses more quickly.

There FIQ applauds also this provision of the bill, seeing it as a way to improve access to specialized care. The adoption of such a provision slightly increases, for the moment, the population’s access to the diagnosis of mental disorders by competent professionals.is it recorded in the memoir.

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