'Not an effective use of time': Return-to-office mandate by government causes surge in requests for Ottawa physicians
Ottawa doctors are facing increased pressure as public servants seek medical notes to support requests for work-from-home accommodations.
CBC News reported that the influx of these requests follows the federal government’s recent push for civil servants to return to the office.
Family physicians in Ottawa, such as Roozbeh Matin and Alex Duong, said they are feeling overwhelmed by the additional paperwork. Matin, who practices in Barrhaven, said he receives two to four requests per week, while Duong, based in Vanier, has dealt with dozens since the spring.
Both physicians believe the issue is widespread across the city, they told the CBC.
“We have been basically inundated with requests from our civil servant patients requesting various sorts of accommodation,” Matin explained.
He and his colleagues argued that the volume of accommodation requests takes away time that could be better spent caring for patients in need of medical treatment.
Increased paperwork for physicians
Doctors like Matin and Duong perceive the situation as a mismanagement of resources. Duong told the CBC that the practice is the federal government “downloading” its workplace accommodation challenges onto family doctors, rather than addressing these concerns through its own channels.
“We’re being asked to police these return-to-work policies for the federal government, which is frankly not an effective use of our time,” Duong stated.
The problem is compounded by the complexity of the forms required, which can span several pages, CBC News noted. Derek McLellan, a physician from Riverside South, revealed that managing these forms takes up a full day each week.
He also pointed out that many patients seeking medical notes had previously worked remotely during the pandemic but now face renewed scrutiny as they request continued accommodations under the return-to-office mandate.
McLellan expressed frustration with the process, labeling it a burden on the public healthcare system with little medical justification.
“It’s a hugely significant thing because it’s just one more task being added to our plate that is also being done, in a way, for no medical benefit,” he said.
Occupational health specialists – not doctor’s notes
The doctors told the CBC that much of this work could be avoided. They propose that the federal government hire its own occupational health professionals to handle accommodation requests.
“If the federal government wants to do occupational assessments, then they should consider hiring their own physicians who are trained in occupational medicine,” Duong said. McLellan echoed this, adding, “I think that would be a far more appropriate use of resources.”
Alex Silas, national executive vice-president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, pointed to the increased burden on Ottawa’s doctors as evidence of the problems with the return-to-office mandate.
“Since the implementation of this mandate, the managers are being forced to ask the employees to go get a medical note for no good reason,” he told CBC News. He believes the policy exacerbates the strain on the healthcare system.
The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) responded by reaffirming its commitment to employee accommodations, citing the Directive on the Duty to Accommodate.
“The adoption of hybrid work has not altered our approach or our commitment to supporting employees,” a TBS spokesperson said in a statement.