President of Doctors Nova Scotia says new contract key to physician recruitment

HALIFAX -

The ongoing contract negotiations between the Nova Scotia government and physicians are critical to improving the health-care system, the newly installed head of the province's doctor association said Tuesday.

Talks that began last Christmas are moving to a final phase, Dr. Colin Audain said in an interview. The last contract expired March 31.

"I think we are getting toward the end of that process, but whether that's days or weeks I can't say for sure," said Audain, an anesthesiologist at the Victoria General Hospital and the Halifax Infirmary.

Audain wouldn't discuss details but said the new deal should include competitive compensation and address work-life balance -- critical issues not only for doctor recruitment and retention but also for a province where 145,000 people are without a family doctor.

In terms of pay, Audain said doctors in Nova Scotia have traditionally compared themselves to physicians in the other three Atlantic provinces, although he noted they are looking at how their colleagues are paid throughout the country.

"I don't know what the compensation piece will look like, and yes it is an important part of it, but it can't be the only part of it, otherwise we are not going to be able to achieve what we ultimately want, which is the best care for the people of Nova Scotia," Audain said.

The talks, he said, also involve how physicians are paid, adding that an agreement could bring changes to the fee-for-service system.

"What I can say about the negotiation process this time around is that it's very different from anything we've done in the past."

He described the talks as an "interest-based negotiation" -- as opposed to a more confrontational style of deal making -- whereby both sides agreed on the pressing issues facing the health system without butting heads.

"Once (negotiators) agree to a set of core issues, then they work through those issues and try to come up with solutions," said Audain, who added that the last part of the process examines how to pay for any "blueprint" that's agreed upon.

"I think that what we'll see is a much richer kind of deal, not in terms of money but in terms of what it means for the people of Nova Scotia," he said.

He credited the province for working to reduce the amount of unwanted paperwork faced by doctors and expressed hope that further inroads could be made through the negotiations. He said the association has identified that about 500,000 hours of "unnecessary" administrative work is done each year.

"If we can take some of that off of their plate and free up some time then that is something that will help physicians and their mental well-being."

Audain was installed as Doctors Nova Scotia's president during the association's annual conference on Saturday for a one-year term that runs until June 2024.

The association represents more than 3,500 physicians, including practising and retired doctors, medical students and residents.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 13, 2023.

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