BackThe Protecteur du Citoyen du Québec has just released a newsletter with the Ombudsman´s highlights of 2019. These highlights start with the 50th birthday of the Québec Ombudsman, which the institution celebrated on 1 May 2019. Apart from that, the newsletter includes different examples of the last year´s activity of the Ombudsman.
The institution presented its findings in its 2018-2019 Annual Report on the quality and integrity of Québec´s public services. It described numerous cases in which public services do not take account of the administrative maze that citizens must navigate.
Moreover the newsletter includes a special investigation released in June 2019 where the Québec Ombudsman noted numerous shortcomings in the internal process for handling disclosures at the Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation (MAPAQ).
The section of the striking investigation results of the newsletter includes the case of a woman with cancer and who was receiving home palliative care had to wait for hours at the emergency room. Even though she felt tired and weak, she was denied a stretcher. A family member complained to the Québec Ombudsman. After an investigation the Québec Ombudsman recommended that the integrated health and social services centre remind the staff that the general condition of people who receive palliative care must be taken into account and that their reason for being at the emergency room should not be the only thing considered. As a result, the staff could better assess the need for a stretcher or a more comfortable chair. The integrated health and social services centre agreed to issue the reminder.
One of the most popular articles of the Québec Ombudsman tackled the issue of housing for elderly people. The Ombudsman highlights that choosing a residential resource for seniors may be daunting and explains in detail the different housing options, institutions and centers of elderly people.
The newsletter ends with a message from Ombudsperson Marie Rinfret who wishes everybody happy holidays and a good new year.
See the full Québec Ombudsman´s newsletter here.
Source: Protecteur du Citoyen du Québec, Canada
