Most of the sections of the Act respecting the governance of the health and social services system are now in force. Among other things, their purpose is to create Santé Québec and to better coordinate the health and social services network.
What is Santé Québec?
It is the government corporation responsible for health and social services across the province. Most of the public institutions in the network have been integrated into it, and Santé Québec is responsible for their operations.
Santé Québec also coordinates these services when they are offered by private institutions or certain private providers.
The four institutions offering services to Northern and Indigenous populations are not integrated into Santé Québec. They are Inuulitsivik Health Centre, Ungava Tulattavik Health Centre, CLSC Naskapi and the Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay.
Santé Québec has several mandates, including:
- Establishing a service access mechanism that takes account of the realities of each region;
- Acting as the sole employer in the healthcare network;
- Facilitating the transfer of staff who choose to work in another institution within the network;
- Encouraging more direct communication between certain bodies - such as CHSLDs and private seniors’ residences - and the institutions.
The Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux still has a central role to play. The Department sets the major orientations for the network, especially regarding the budget and the objectives to be achieved.
Local management
Although the network's operations are the responsibility of Santé Québec, the Act calls for local management. The aim of this approach is to enable decisions to be taken at the lowest possible management level, i.e. close to patients.
The Act also requires managers to be present and accessible in each facility (CLSCs, hospitals, etc.). Their role is to ensure that everything is running smoothly and to report on how operations are going. If there is a problem, they must take the necessary steps to rectify it as quickly as possible.
Any questions or problems?
To find out more about Santé Québec and the new Act, visit Quebec.ca.
Would you like to file a complaint against Santé Québec or the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux? You can call on the Protecteur du citoyen.
Have you received health or social services that you consider inadequate? First contact the service quality and complaints commissioner of the institution concerned.
Haven’t heard back from the commissioner after 45 days? Do you disagree with the commissioner’s conclusions? Then contact us. The Protecteur du citoyen's services are free and confidential.
Service quality and complaints commissioners are now supervised by a national commissioner. This person, who reports to Santé Québec, ensures that the complaints examination procedure is properly applied.
Also see: Filing a health network complaint in the public or private sector
