A new Quebecer record waiting to see a specialist doctor

There have never been so many Quebecers pending to see a specialist doctor, and the majority of patients who pearly have exceeded the deadlines set by Quebec.

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“The problem is that demand increases faster than all the solutions that are implemented. […] It is like trying to empty a boat that fills up as and when “, illustrates the president of the Federation of Doctors Specialists from Quebec, Vincent Oliva.

In May last May, nearly 910,000 Quebecers, a summit, await a consultation with a specialist doctor, according to data from the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS).

For the past five years, the wait is constantly inflating. While there were 500,000 people on the list in January 2020, she is now close to the million.

ENT and dermatology

The worst specialties for waiting are by far the ot-rhino-laryngology (ENT) and dermatology, with more than 100,000 Quebecers awaiting a consultation (see table).

For Dr. Oliva, part of the problem lies in the too many consultations referred by omnipractic doctors. “Definitely, there are too many,” he says.

According to him, the Center for the Distribution of Services, where requests are sent, should also be able to filter their relevance.

“Even if the problems are more mild, it remains unacceptable to wait,” he said, adding that some patients would not even need a consultation.

Lack of doctors

For the president of the Association of Gastroenterologists of Quebec, DRE Mélanie Bélanger, the province lacks specialists in her field. She explains that there are almost three times more cardiologists, for example.

Mélanie Bélanger stresses that many patients come into urgency or must be subject to frequent follow -ups due to chronic diseases, such as Crohn’s disease.

“It’s sad that patients are waiting for,” says Dr. Bélanger. But faced with the constant increase in requests, gastroenterologists must prioritize urgent cases to the detriment of less serious patients.

One of the solutions mentioned by specialists is greater use of “digital advice”. This tool implemented by the province allows omnipractians to send an email to a specialist, with photos if necessary, to judge the relevance of a consultation or propose a treatment.

Neither Health Quebec nor the MSSS responded to requests from Journal.

In addition, the government is increasingly catching up in surgery. As of March 31, only about 6,000 patients have been waiting for over a year. They were more than 20,000 three years ago. The waiting list also decreases, displaying more than 147,000 patients.

Always more Quebecers are waiting to see a specialist

• January 4, 2020: 500 637
• January 2, 2021: 559 772
• 1^is January 2022: 696 197
• December 31, 2022: 822 662
• December 30, 2023: 831 821
• January 11, 2025: 904 894
• May 31, 2025: 909 019

Disturbing given, the number of patients whose expectations is considered to be “excluding delay” also increases. There were more than 580,000 this spring, or 64% of consultation requests. In January 2020, the out -of -date requests were 35%.

Depending on the five priority ratings, deadlines may be less than three days before seeing the doctor at one year.

• ENT: 139,199 (63% excluding deadlines)
• Dermatology: 108,453 (65% excluding deadlines)
• Immunology: 84,561 (62% excluding deadlines)
• Gynecology: 74,778 (52% excluding deadlines)
• Plastic surgery: 68,909 (80% excluding delay)
• Gastroenterology: 60,959 (75% excluding delay)

Data date from May 31, 2025

Source: MSSS