For you, with you, to the end.

Complaint examination system - Explanations

The Local Service Quality and Complaints Commissioner One commissioner per establishment; Informs the user of his/her rights, recourse and explains the complaint process; Deal with the complaint; Meets the user, if necessary; Gives an answer within 45 days.

The Quebec Ombudsman Second recourse; If the user is not satisfied with the answer of the commissioner or his investigation, or did not received an answer within 45 days; Two-years limitation; No time limit.

Medical examiner Treats medical complaints; Public practice only; Gives an answer within 45 days.

Review Committee Second recourse; Deal with complaints that have been treated by the medical examiner; Will not treat your complaint all over again but will ensure that the medical examiner had investigated your request properly and objectively; 60 days limitation; Gives an answer within 60 days.

User

Who can lodge a complaint? Any user can make a complaint about the services that he received, still receive or should have received in the public health care system.

Who can help? A person from CAAP - Laval; A person of the User Committee of the institution concerned by the complaint; Any other person chosen by the user. Note: Guidance only related to the complaint process, not health issues.

Why file a complaint? For rights to be respected; To improve services To identifie problems and correct them; To insure that the services given respect the user’s needs.

Some of your rights To be informed about available services and your state of health; To accept or refuse care; To participate in the decisions that concerne you; To have access to your medical record. *These rights come with responsibilities such as participation in your plan of care, to be respecful and avoid any form of violence.

Is the procedure litigious? The complaint procedure is not litigious; No financial compensation allowed; The goal is to improve the quality of services and care, not to assign blame ; If nobody says anythig, nobody will know about it, so nothing will be done to fix it.

And the other recourse? Lodging a complaint in an institution does not prevent you to avail yourself of any other recourse provided by law. You must know, however, that neither the complaint nor the response will be admissible in court.

What to do in case of retaliation? The law prohibits any form of retaliation against people who file complaints; If such problems occur, immediately contact the commissioner involved; The commissioner must intervene immediately to stop any act of retaliation.

Concerned institutions Centres de santé et de services sociaux (CSSS); Hospitals; Centres locaux de services communautaires (CLSC); Centres d’hébergement de soins longue durée (CHSLD); Rehabilitation center Youth Protection Center (CJ – CPEJ); Health Board (Agence de la Santé); Community organizations Ressources intermédiaires; Ressources de type familial; Urgences-Santé; Private retirement homes; Others…

CAAP - Laval

About us Community organization; Independent from the health Network; Founded in 1994; One in each region; Assists and supports the user in the complaint process; Can assist laval residents or users of Laval’s institutions and services.

Our team Josée Laperle, Director Mélanie Dubé, Deputy Director Carla Rocha, counselor The distribution of complaints is random unless the user requests a particular person

Our guiding principles Respect of the values, abilities, autonomy and decisions making concernaing procedures undertaken; Confidentiality; Prejudice in favourable to the user; Intervention within the limits of our mandate and respecting the roles and responsabilities of the other resources; Insure free and efficient services

Services

Our mandate Assist and support, upon request, a user in any action he undertakes to complain to an institution, agency or the Quebec Ombudsman and support throughout the process.

Our services Listening and support; Information on your rights as a health care user and on the procedure to file a complaint; Clarification of the situation, the reansons for complaints and your expectations; Assistance in every step of your recourse; Support in organizing your complaint; Preparation of documents, including the writing of the complaint; Accompaniment, Follow-up

Confidentiality The entire process is confidential; However, it should be expected that the people involved in a complaint are informed about the nature of it; The complaint will not be add to your medical record; A complaint can not be made anonymously; If the user does not want to be known, he can make a report.