POLICY MATTERS
If undertaking job actions, mitigate
adverse impact on patients, public
T
he College’s Council has approved a policy that
sets out expectations for physicians who may be
contemplating and/or undertaking job actions.
The Providing Physician Services During Job Actions
policy had received generally positive feedback during its
consultation, with a number of respondents – including
members of the public and physicians – describing it as
comprehensive and reasonable.
“Almost all of us, I believe, realize that a framework
for the provision of medical services in the event of
a job action by physicians must be comprehensive,
cooperative and extremely thoughtful of our patients’
emergency needs and anxieties,” stated one physician
respondent.
The policy states that if physicians have concerns that
cannot be resolved, they must consider the following
before making the decision to withdraw their services:
• hat is in the best interests of patients;
W
• hether patients will be abandoned;
W
• hether the public will be deprived of access to
W
medical care; and
• hether patients and/or the public will be placed at
W
risk of harm.
If after carefully considering the above factors, physicians decide that proceeding with a withdrawal of
services is not contrary to their professional responsibilities, they must mitigate the adverse impact of the
withdrawal on patients and/or the public.
The policy states that, notwithstanding the above, the
College expects that during a job action, physicians will
provide medical care that is urgent or otherwise necessary to prevent harm, suffering and/or deterioration.
This will include ensuring health-care concerns are
assessed and appropriately triaged so that urgent and/or
necessary medical care can be obtained.
Below are some FAQs about the policy:
1. Is this a new policy?
No. This is a revised version of the College’s Withdrawal
of Physician Services During Job Actions policy.
2. What types of job actions does this policy apply to?
The policy applies to all job actions, including those
related to patient safety, practice environments (e.g.,
concerns about work environments and/or conditions,
such as on-call schedules, available resources, hospital
administration, etc.) and/or compensation (e.g., fee
negotiations between the Ministry of Health and LongTerm Care and the Ontario Medical Association.)
3. Does the policy restrict the profession’s ability to
withdraw their services during job actions?
The policy does not categorically prohibit job actions,
but it does set out the requirements physicians must
meet when contemplating and/or undertaking a withdrawal of services. The College has established these
expectations to serve and protect the public interest.
The policy articulates the College’s expectations for
DIALOGUE • Issue 1, 2014
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