Quebec hospital and long-term care pharmacists vote in favour of pressure tactics

Angered by the government’s inaction in negotiations to renew their collective agreement, hospital pharmacists voted 99% in favour of a mandate to implement pressure tactics when they deem it appropriate.Nearly 1,200 pharmacists working in hospitals, long-term care facilities (CHSLDs), and seniors’ residences attended a meeting Wednesday evening to give this mandate to the board of directors of the Association of Pharmacists of Health Establishments of Quebec (APES).As with other healthcare workers, pharmacists cannot engage in pressure tactics that would impact public health. They have developed a plan that could nevertheless attract the government’s attention. APES still hopes to reach an agreement by the holidays. But if no progress is made at the bargaining table, hospital pharmacists will cease participating in the Digital Health Record for all prescription-related aspects. After postponing the launch of the Digital Health Record last fall, Quebec Health announced Wednesday that the pilot projects for this digital shift would finally be rolled out next spring. In their work, hospital pharmacists try to curb pharmacy expenses, for example, by implementing solutions to avoid wasting medications that are about to expire or by recovering vials of medication that are very expensive, explained Linda Vaillant, pharmacist and executive director of the Association of Pharmacists in Health, in an interview. All these protocols could be abandoned, and Quebec risks seeing its costs balloon.APES also intends to cut down on paperwork, organize a series of demonstrations, and lobby opposition members of the National Assembly. “The goal is to be able to make ourselves heard, to raise our voices and for it to be seen that we are raising our voices, because that’s what we’ve been trying to do for three years, and it doesn’t seem to be an issue for the government that it hasn’t resolved anything in our case,” said Vaillant.The pressure tactics will likely be applied gradually, she specified. “But all of this involves pharmacists withdrawing from their duties to focus on patients,” she said.In less than 24 hours, pressure tactics can be activated, Vaillant maintained. She indicated that hospital pharmacists are angry at the government’s lack of consideration. The collective agreement for hospital pharmacists expired almost three years ago, and negotiations are at a standstill on key issues. The A.P.E.S. submitted its demands approximately two years ago.“Pharmacists are ready to take action because they’re fed up. Not because they enjoy doing it, but because they feel they aren’t being heard and are barely respected,” Vaillant said. “Because when you work with a bunch of professionals around you who have all had a settlement, who all have the new bonuses, the new network clauses, you’re doing the same thing as them, you’re on call, you’re on night shifts, you’re on call, but your bonuses are lower than everyone else who has settled their case. And nobody seems to care about that, even though our salary is already much lower than in the private sector; it’s insulting. It insults our members, and they’re really fed up.”A costly shortageThree issues are crucial for hospital pharmacists at the bargaining table in the context of the staff shortage. First, there are attractive measures for young pharmacists completing their university training; competitive salaries; and conditions to retain pharmacists nearing retirement.However, these issues have still not been addressed at the negotiating table, and representatives of the employer side do not appear to have the necessary mandates to discuss them. Two weeks ago, the Association of Pharmacists of Quebec requested the intervention of the President of the Treasury Board, France-Élaine Duranceau, and the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, to reach an agreement before Christmas, but nothing has changed. The ministers do not seem to have allowed any expansion of the mandates given to their negotiators, according to the APES.The association points out that the healthcare system is spending enormous sums on independent contractors to compensate for the shortage of pharmacists in the public system. In several areas, services have had to be reduced.This article has been translated from its original French.

Quebec hospital and long-term care pharmacists vote in favour of pressure tactics

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