A family medicine clinic located in Hudson, Quebec, to the west of Montreal, has announced its closure due to the enactment of Quebec’s contentious Bill 2. Dr. Tara McCarty, a family physician and co-owner at the Hudson Medical Centre, revealed that approximately 11,000 patients, predominantly English speakers, are served by the clinic. Notably, this clinic is the sole bilingual GMF, denoting a family doctor group, in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges area.
The clinic is set to cease operations on April 1 following the decision of three out of the seven practicing doctors to depart the province in response to the new law. Dr. McCarty expressed deep concern over the situation, emphasizing that the legislation compels doctors to deliver “unsafe care to our patients.” She highlighted that the law imposes restrictions on doctors in terms of patient care protocols, which deviates from their standard practice.
Bill 2, effective since October 25, links doctors’ remuneration to specific performance measures, such as the number of patients treated and their level of vulnerability. Various medical federations in Quebec, representing specialists, family physicians, and medical students, as well as the association for pharmacy owners, have initiated legal challenges against the law, contending that it will have adverse effects on patient care.
According to a spokesperson from Quebec’s Health Ministry, in the event of a GMF closure, the clinic must ensure that its patients are registered with the Guichet d’accès à un médecin de famille (GAMF) and can access the Guichet d’accès à la première ligne (GAP), a service designed to provide medical appointments to Quebec residents lacking a family doctor.
Premier François Legault and Dr. Marc-André Amyot, the president of Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec (FMOQ), announced the immediate resumption of formal negotiations. They indicated a willingness to consider amendments to Bill 2 if an agreement is reached, acknowledging that a portion of family physicians’ compensation is contingent upon taking on a higher number of Quebec residents.
The Hudson Medical Centre issued a statement disclosing that each patient will receive personalized communication from their family doctor in the coming weeks to inform them of their future practice plans. Patients were advised not to inquire about their doctor’s decisions at the reception desk. Christie Lovat, a patient from the clinic, lamented the closure, describing it as “devastating to the entire community.”
