Special report by the Protecteur du citoyen — For access to public residential resources that respects the rights and needs of elderly people and of their families

  • October 28, 2021
Corps

Québec City, October 28, 2021 – Today, Québec Ombudsperson Marie Rinfret released a special report on access to public residential resources that respects the rights and needs of elderly people and their families. The report documents the reality of elderly people who are waiting for a place in a substitute environment and spells out what needs to occur immediately to correct the access mechanism.

"Every year in Québec, 21,000 people who can’t remain safely at home come up against a complicated access machine that is hard to understand, that involves lengthy wait times and is discouraging. These people, who are experiencing a crucial stage of their life, suddenly find themselves in complete disarray, uprooted and forced to move to a new environment which is often not the one they expected," said Marie Rinfret.

At the end of its systemic investigation into the rules and practices surrounding access, the Protecteur du citoyen made 14 recommendations to the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS) under four orientations that respond directly to the main findings.

Orientation 1: Show consideration for would-be residents

As part of the access process, various practices seen in CISSSs and CIUSSSs result in the denial of rights or needless upheaval.

Orientation 2: Standardize practices Québec-wide

Orientation 3: Review application prioritization

Orientation 4: Produce an exhaustive portrait of the situation regarding access to residential resources

See today’s needs in order to fairly provide for tomorrow’s

MSSS is duty-bound to make decisions based on documented observations and to arrive at an overall vision of the needs of the elderly in order to make the access process more compassionate.

"At a time when Québec is poised to overhaul residential resources for the elderly, the entire focus must be on the response to the issues raised in this report. Letting this opportunity to base our ambitions on reliable up-to-date data slip through our fingers would be opting to refuse fair access to residential resources for our elderly population," said Marie Rinfret in closing.

To see the Protecteur du citoyen’s 14 recommendations, read the special report titled Pour un accès à l’hébergement public qui respecte les droits et les besoins des personnes âgées et de leurs proches or read the summary in English.

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Media Relations:
Carole-Anne Huot
Phone: (418) 646-7143/Cell: (418) 925-7994
Email: carole-anne.huot@protecteurducitoyen.qc.ca