Quebec physicians demand coroner's inquest after five doctor suicides in five months

In a collective appeal dated Sept. 18, over 1,500 Quebec physicians asked the province’s chief coroner to hold a formal inquest after five doctors died by suicide within a five-month span this year. The doctors argue that constant exposure to patient suffering, mounting administrative pressures and a climate of “doctor-bashing” discourage them from accessing mental-health support. They also note that successive governments have blamed physicians for systemic health-care failures, adding to their distress.

Every death in Quebec is examined by a coroner, and the coroner’s office has begun an in-depth analysis of the physicians’ petition, though it has not yet indicated whether a public inquiry will be ordered. Plastic surgeon Jean-Paul Brutus, a signatory, warned that the well-being of health-care workers directly impacts patient care and framed the issue as a public-health concern rather than a professional one.