Martin C. Barry
There has been a significant increase in the number of user complaints filed at the CIUSSS Centre-Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal over the past few years.
However, the hike may have been at least partly the result of the CIUSSS having a wider mandate and more responsibilities, an official with the CIUSSS explained during the regional health agency’s annual public information meeting.
Focused on care
“We’re proud of the CIUSSS and what our team has accomplished in the area of health care through our integrated system,” board chairman Alan Maislin said in some remarks opening the meeting held at the Jewish General Hospital on Nov. 7.
“And it is truly an integrated system. Because if you watch what’s happened over the last four to five years, you can see that the CIUSSS Centre-Ouest is truly focused on the persons we serve in our community.”
Wide area covered
This was the fourth public information meeting the CIUSSS held since the provincial government’s wide-ranging reorganization of Quebec’s public health care agencies.
The area covered by CIUSSS Centre-Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal (including Park Extension) is home to approximately 362,000 people. They are served by more than 30 complementary healthcare facilities.
The CIUSSS’s network includes one of Montreal’s leading health care institutions (the Jewish General Hospital), as well as three other specialized hospitals, five CLSCs, two rehabilitation centres, four residential centres, two long-term geriatric residences and two day centres.
Partnership in health care
Treatment and care on the territory of CIUSSS Centre-Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal is provided by a staff of more than 10,000, including approximately 700 doctors.
“We see users as equal partners in planning, developing and monitoring their own care in their own way,” said Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg, CEO of the CIUSSS.
“You are experts whose input is crucial to the work of our professionals. While we can always improve on our personal-centered care, I am happy to say that this approach is already becoming well-ingrained into the everyday activities of our CIUSSS.”
Screening improved
According to Dr. Rosenberg, the rate of screening for delirium in hospitalized patients over the age of 75 has risen sharply at the Jewish General Hospital. “As a result, underlying medical conditions are promptly diagnosed and there is less risk of functional or cognitive decline,” he said.
In her annual report on complaints, Maude Laliberté, the CIUSSS’s commissioner for complaints, said the “volume of activity” seen by her office has been increasing over the past three years.
Complaints increased
“An increase that is quite noteworthy,” she continued, while adding that the trend is ongoing. She said there could be several explanations for this, including the fact the CIUSSS has taken on more responsibilities and mandates.
She also pointed out that a new provincial law to deal with elder abuse came into effect, adding responsibilities to the office of the commissioner for complaints and creating a greater volume of complaints being received by the office.
