NLMA wasn't consulted on changes to Medical Act, says president

The president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association says he's disappointed the organizationwasn't consulted about plans to streamline medical licensing by the provincial government.

Premier Andrew Furey announced Wednesday government will make changes to the Medical Act that will aimto reduce red tape and the shorten the years-long process it takes formedical licenses to be issued to physicians trained outside the province.

He said the changes are meant to make it easier for qualified doctors from elsewhere in the world to work in Newfoundland and Labrador.

"I think it will be very significant. It eliminates barriers to having good doctors," Furey, an orthopedic surgeon himself,told reporters Thursday.

"If I had to fill out all that stuff and I wanted to move to the United Kingdom, I'm not doing it, I'm just not doing it. It's a huge barrier to go."

Furey said the Newfoundland and Labrador College of Physicians and Surgeons, the province's licensing body, will still be heavily involved as part of a five-person panel. Any licenses handed out through the process would still be provisional for five years, Furey said, and physicians would still pay fees to the college.

The college said in a news release Friday thatit looks forward to working with Health Minister Tom Osborne and that it's important to recognize the need to expedite the process in the time of a nationaldoctor shortage.

The association that speaks for doctors, however, says they weren't part of the consultation process.

"It's a disappointment. Because I think the NLMA and physicians were very much concerned about quality of care," Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association President Dr. Kris Luscombe told CBC News Friday.

"I think we could offer a lot to help inform government aroundhow we understand that there is a crisis. And we need to support more physicians coming into the province, but we have a lot of expertise and we would be able to offer some suggestions around how new processes could maintain quality."

Luscombe said the NLMA is holding an emergency board meeting Friday to receive analysis on how the legislation will impact their members.

Asked about how the streamlined process could impact quality of care, Osborne dismissed the notion and the change is about making the process easier for top professionals to practice in the province.

"If you're a world-class heart surgeon in Dublin, you should be able to preform heart surgery in Newfoundland and Labrador," Osborne said.

The changes to legislation will be reviewed at least once a year, Osborne said, alongside changes that grant the health minister the power to determine the qualifications and medical schools that would allow a medical practitioner to attain a provisional license.

Osborne said those kinds of decisions would be largely advised by the five-personpanel, which would include two people from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, two physicians from the province's health authorities and an independent representative of the Department of Health.

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