Obstetrics in Quebec Crisis: Clinics Fold, Access at Risk

0:00of Stetrics and Quebec is getting crushed by low pay for clinic overhead. Docs pool in just $29.45 per prenatal visit, but only $6.55 covers, rent, staff, lights, and bills. Last year, six-obgen clinics shut down for good, and at least five more could close within two years. Take the shadow away clinic, dropping its doors April 30. Eight physicians there managed 900 pregnant patients yearly, logging 23,000 visits. Now those docs shift to a family medicine group ditching pregnancy follow-ups for gynecology only. Physicians call it heartbreaking. One co-owner explained a half day of obstetrics pays $550 while costs hit $580. They bled money for years. They chased every fix from recruiting more specialists to pleading with health authorities for cash, but came up empty. The Gynecologist Association warns hospitals lack space to absorb these services, leading to straight up lost patient slots.

1:02Negotiations with the government are frozen specialists, push for 14.5% pay bump over five years, but Quebec stuck at 11%. Without a deal on office fees, expect 90,000 fewer annual visits, slamming access for expected moms. Clinics keep folding and pressure builds for a breakthrough before the system cracks wider. Local news powered by AI. This is Canada News Today. I'm Corey with The Story.