"It's a real shame to let the public believe that family doctors don't work enough evenings and weekends," says the FMOQ.

The president of the Federation of General Practitioners of Quebec, Dr. Marc-André Amyot, disputes the Ministry of Health's figures indicating that doctors work little in the evenings and on weekends.

• Also read: Doctors rarely work in their offices in the evenings and weekends

According to this new data, only 6% of appointments are offered on weekends, and a mere 3% in the evening; the vast majority of appointments are scheduled from Tuesday to Thursday before 3 p.m.

"It's a real shame to let the public believe that family doctors don't work enough evenings and weekends [...] When the minister said, 'I want to change my tone,' it's not the kind of tone that will improve the situation, especially by not properly informing the public," said Dr. Amyot.

According to him, this situation stems from an organizational problem beyond the control of doctors, which forces them to work in the second line rather than in the first line.

"Family physicians work in institutions during unfavorable hours. They have to do emergency care and hospitalization. They are required by the government to work in institutions. So this reduces their availability during unfavorable hours in the office," proclaims the president of the FMOQ.

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"We don't need all doctors to be available in the evenings and on weekends. We need an emergency service, and in the GMFs, they are open every evening and on weekends. There is always a doctor available for emergencies, but the monitoring of chronic diseases is done during regular opening hours," he adds.

The latter also maintains that although doctors work, they face a lack of resources, particularly a shortage of nurses.

"When I need a blood test for a patient, when I need an examination, it's impossible to have a blood test," says Dr. Marc-André Amyot.

"We can't have a full medical staff on weekends. There are no resources provided by the institution on weekends. So we set up a walk-in service for emergencies, and the rest is done during the week," adds the physician and president of the FMOQ.

Mr. Amyot clarified that the ministry's figures do not take into account doctors who work in both GMFs and hospitals.

To see the full interview, watch the video above