'You're on your own': Quebec parents grapple with lack of pediatrician followup

In Canada’s worst province for finding a family doctor, those with young children are also grappling with the impact of an initiative introduced almost two years ago that prevents pediatricians from following healthy children. "I had to network my way to find a pediatrician," Québec resident Alix Née, who has a baby boy, recently told CTV News. "(My son) was very well followed after being born at Sainte-Justine [Hospital]. Then, eventually, they were like, 'you're on your own.'" In December 2021, the province and the Québec Association of Pediatricians decided pediatricians would no longer be conducting general examinations to evaluate the growth and development of a healthy child. This task would, instead, become the responsibility of a family doctor. The problem is that Québec has the highest rate of people in Canada without a regular physician, with an estimated 1.2 million unattached to a family doctor and more than 830,000 on a waiting list. That’s a big worry for parents of young children, many of whom don’t have a family doctor themselves. Née, for one, has been on the waitlist for a family physician for the last five years, despite being tagged as a priority case because of her diabetes. Now she must also find a family doctor for her infant. "It's petrifying," she said. "They're so small; you have so many questions. It's really scary. You go from being very well taken care of [at the hospital] to being all alone." Read: New research discoveries are more likely to be put to use in pediatricians’ offices if patients and their caregivers get involved Many Québeckers are in a mix-and-match situation where certain family members have a regular doctor while others do not. Camille Dolbec and her three-year-old daughter, for example, each have a different family doctor but two other family members—Dolbec’s husband and their newborn son, Léon—have no doctor. When Léon was born, Dolbec noticed a hernia-type growth near his bellybutton. She called the province’s Info-Santé health service, which told her to call a nurse at a local community centre. The nurse checked the growth, said Dolbec, "But she didn't do a complete exam." Little Léon hasn't seen a doctor since the day he was born. "Of course it makes me anxious," said Dolbec. "There are moments where I see him, and I say, 'I see him. He's healthy.' I can be rational, but when there's a little something, I worry. He could be missing something or there could be a problem I don't see." She’s been trying to line up a family doctor for her baby boy but to date has had no success. "I tried another place when he was six weeks old, but they told me they only take babies four weeks and under,” she recalled. “Honestly, I'm not very emotional postpartum, but that affected me. I cried for days." Read: Infant antibiotics use and disrupted gut microbiome linked to childhood allergies, asthma and eczema, researchers say Dr. Amélie Du Pont, vice president of the Québec Association of Pediatricians, said the December 2021 change was meant to allow pediatricians to focus on children with more serious conditions. "Pediatricians are mostly trained to take care of kids that present with either acute or chronic complex conditions," she told CTV News. "Healthy children who can be taken care of, for example, very well by family doctors and nurse practitioners, are reoriented towards those health care professionals so that we're sure every kid has access to the right type of care." Dr. Du Pont said there are no consequences for pediatricians who continue to see their healthy patients. For Québeckers who want to check on their child’s development, the province’s integrated health and social services centres offer an option called ABCdaire 18 months+ checkup, which allows parents to consult with a medical specialist on their child’s growth projections. Since it was introduced in the spring of 2022, the program has seen more than 28,000 children, according to the Québec health ministry. The program has also generated referrals for screening for more than 4,600 children to detect potential developmental difficulties. Read: Adolescent ER visits for eating disorders saw big jump during pandemic: Ont. study

'You're on your own': Quebec parents grapple with lack of pediatrician followup

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