The Protecteur du citoyen was informed about problems accessing residential and long-term care centres (CHSLDs) in central Montérégie. People living outside this area were having trouble being admitted, even though their location should not have been an obstacle.
The Protecteur du citoyen investigated the rules and practices surrounding access to permanent accommodation. Its special report on the subject is available online.
Intervention and findings
The Protecteur du citoyen intervened with Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux (CISSS) de la Montérégie-Centre. More specifically, it investigated its accommodation access mechanism (MAH), which manages residential requests for this area and coordinates admissions.
The investigation revealed that MAH's practices do not comply with provincial rules.
For example, all network institutions use the same priority levels when ranking applications. However, MAH uses its own scale. What's more, it assigns the lowest priority to requests from another territory. As a result, these applicants end up at the bottom of the waiting list, regardless of their condition.
MAH also interferes with transfers of residents in the form of inter-institutional exchanges. In short, it imposes restrictions that almost always prevent such transfers from happening.
Finally, MAH does too little to inform families about the application process. This lack of transparency causes a great deal of insecurity for would-be residents and their families.
Recommendations
CISSS de la Montérégie-Centre has already drafted an action plan to improve its practices. It has also accepted the Protecteur du citoyen's six recommendations and its request for follow-up. The Protecteur du citoyen will oversee their implementation.
