Improving the quality of services : our concern!

The Health and Social Services Network Complaint Examination System, an independant and confidential recourse. Any person who feels he has not been respected may express dissatisfaction, file a complaint or report a mistreatment situation to the Service Quality and Complaints Commissioner.

Know Your Rights as a User

  • Be informed1 about the existing services and how to obtain them.
  • Receive, with continuity and in a personalized and safe manner, health services and social services which are scientifically, humanly and socially appropriate.
  • Choose the professional or the institution from whom or which you receive services.2
  • Receive emergency care.
  • Be informed of your state of health and the possible solutions and their consequences before consenting to the care concerning you.
  • Be informed, as soon as possible, of any accident having occurred during the provision of services.
  • Be treated, in every intervention, with courtesy, fairness and understanding, and with respect for your dignity, autonomy, needs and safety.
  • Accept or refuse care, personally or through your representative, in a free and enlightened manner.
  • Have access to your record, which is confidential.
  • Participate in the decisions that concern you.
  • Be accompanied and assisted by the person of your choice when you wish to obtain information on services.
  • Make a complaint without risk of reprisals, be informed of the complaint examination procedure and be accompanied and assisted at every step of your approach, if necessary.
  • Be represented for all your recognized rights if you temporarily or permanently become incapable of giving your consent.
  • Receive services in English, if you are an Anglophone, according to the government access program.
  • Receive end-of-life care.
Examination of your complaint
  1. The Commissioner receives your request and can help you formulate your complaint.
  2. He examines your complaint to identify the problem clearly and to attempt to resolve it. At that time, he will ask for your version of the facts.
  3. He collects information from the persons involved.
  4. He informs you of the results within 45 days of receipt of your complaint. His conclusions are accompanied by solutions to solve the problem or corrective actions that are recommended to the institution.
What is a Service Quality and Complaints Commissioner? The Commissioner is responsible for the application of the complaint examination procedure for the institution’s users. Because he reports directly to the Board of Directors, he has the necessary independence to perform his duties. He is there to listen to you and ensure that your rights are respected. After examining complaints, he addresses recommendations to the Board of Directors. If your complaint concerns a physician, a dentist, a pharmacist or a medical resident, the Commissioner will forward it to the medical examiner and inform you. If you are dissatisfied with the medical examiner’s answers or conclusions, you may exercise your right to recourse before the institution’s review committee. Private practices of physicians, dentists or other healthcare professionals are not covered by the complaint review system, except if they are bound by a service agreement with an institution of the health and social services network. You may formulate a written or oral complaint confidentially to the Service Quality and Complaints Commissioner of the institution concerned.

Service quality and complaints commissioner CISSS de Chaudière-Appalaches
1 877 986-3587
commissaire.cisss-caanti-spam@anti-spamssss.gouv.qcanti-spam.anti-spamca
www.cisss-ca.gouv.qc.ca

Complaint examination system

The Act respecting health services and social services provides for a complaint examination system in the health and social services network. Why file a complaint? Filing a complaint is a constructive action that ensures that users’ rights are respected and helps improve the quality of health and social services. Before filing a complaint, you should first discuss it with the staff responsible for care and services in the institution concerned. Who can file a complaint? The user (or his representative) and the heir (or legal representative) of a deceased user may file an oral or written complaint, by phone, by mail or in person. Procedure for filing a complaintFirst-level complaint You are dissatisfied with the care and services provided by
  • an institution of the health and social services network;
    • any other organization or any other partnership or person to whom this institution reports;
  • an ambulance transport service3;
  • a private seniors' residence;
  • an intermediate resource;
  • a family-type resource;
  • a community organization;
  • a private housing resource (gambling or drug addiction).
Second-level complaint Il you are dissatisfied with the Commissioner's answers or conclusions, you may address the Québec Ombudsman :

Reporting

If you witness or know that the rights of a user or a group of users have not been respected or if you believe that a person is a victim of mistreatment, you may notify the Commissioner orally or in writing. The Commissioner has the power to intervene.

Assistance and support

The Centre d’assistance et d’accompagnement aux plaintes (CAAP) in your region can help you formulate a complaint or support you in your approach. Its services are free and confidential. Call 1-877-767-2227 (toll free). The users’ committee of the institution concerned can also assist you. To find the contact information of the resources concerned, visit Québec.ca/sante-plaintes.

Comité des usagers du Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de Chaudière-Appalaches
418 386-3363, poste 43549
cucica@ssss.gouv.qc.ca

1. Use of the male gender in this document refers to both women and men.
2. The institution determines the health services and social services it offers by accounting for its mission and its human, material and financial ressources.
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