'Soul-sucking' and 'dumb': Doc memo to PCs

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ABOVE THE FOLD

PHYSICIAN, STEEL THYSELF — Doctors are bristling at a Ford government memo asking them to go full throttle as hospitals struggle with a hat trick of respiratory illnesses.

“Suggesting that people can work harder when they’re already working that hard, it’s morale-killing. It’s soul-sucking. It’s dumb,” says Dr. SOHAIL GANDHI, a former president of the Ontario Medical Association.

“It’s gaslighting,” added Green Leader MIKE SCHREINER.

The memo: Sent by the Ministry of Health earlier this week, the missive acknowledges it’s been a “difficult and complex” season with Covid, the flu and RSV flaring up, and asks doctors to provide services “seven days a week, including evening availability, until further notice” in order to “alleviate pressure on emergency departments.”

But physicians say they’re already working at their limit and there’s not much more to give. Further compounding the problem is burnout among health care professionals.

At first, the memo caused confusion an…