Dr. Gaétan Barrette, left, Régine Laurent, centre, and Dr. Louis Godin, representing, respectively, medical specialists, nurses and general practitioners, at a news conference in Montreal on Monday. (CBC)

In an unusual move, the two unions representing Quebec's medical specialists and general practitioners are backing the province's biggest nurses union in its contract demands for better working conditions.

The Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec and the Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec came out in support of the nurses at a news conference in Montreal on Monday.

They said the shortage of nurses in the province is largely to blame for overcrowded emergency rooms and a lack of beds in intensive care units and that the only way to hire more nurses is to improve working conditions.

Nurses are an integral part of a team, and without them, the team approach of medical care used by hospitals in Quebec breaks down, the doctors said.

The compensation nurses receive for their work is insufficient, said Dr. Gaétan Barrette, president of the federation representing specialists.

"If I had to work at that salary for the responsibility I [would] have, I would do something else in my life," Barette said. "I would earn a lot more elsewhere.

"We are very lucky in Quebec, most nurses are not bilingual. Because if they were, they would move. I am sure of that."

Lack of political will

The government's refusal to listen to the nurses' demands amounts to a lack of political will to resolve the problem, Barette said.

"Government officials are making decisions for their re-election, not for the public's good," said Barrette. "If they were to make the decision for the public good, they would pay them more; we would have more [nurses]; they would post jobs."

Barette said it makes no sense that hospitals are being forced to staff wards with nurses on private contracts, because they are not being provided with budgets to hire them permanently.

Another example of what Barette called the government's misplaced priorities is the number of chronic care patients who remain in acute care wards, adding to the problem of emergency room overcrowding.

It would cost $50 million for the government to transfer those patients out of the hospital network, Barette said.

"It is easy to transfer those patients to outside hospital resources," Barette said. "And, they do exist, but they don't want to buy them."

The nurses' demands include a four-day work week in return for a longer work day and the end to forced overtime, said Régine Laurent, president of the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec, which represents 48,000 nurses.

The unions estimate the province is currently short more than 2,000 nurses.

They also predict an additional 15,000 nurses will become eligible for retirement over the next five years.

Minister negotiating

The government is negotiating with nurses to improve working conditions, said Health Minister Yves Bolduc.

But hospital administrators also have the power to move things forward, the minister said.

He pointed toexamples such as the Montreal Heart Institute, which has already brought in four-day workweeks, and the Jewish General, which has eliminated overtime.