The opposition health critic says the provincial government is “insulting” members of the NLMA by imposing a cap on the number of virtual appointments they can have in the run of a day.

Barry Petten was responding to comments made on VOCM by Health Minister Tom Osborne, who argues that the cap is there to ensure that the focus stays on providing in-person care.

Petten calls it “remarkable” that government would celebrate their Teledoc contract for virtual care, while at the same time trying to control how doctors manage their practices.

He says 136,000 people who don’t have a family doctor are desperate for care, whether in person or virtual, and the decision is a “total sign of failure” for those in need.