Making a complaint about a senior’s residence

Sometimes, senior care may be considered inadequate or seniors’ rights may have been violated. In this case, you should not hesitate to file a complaint against a private senior’s residence. In doing so, you will ensure that respect for users’ rights is maintained, while improving the quality of health services and social services.

Moreover, you can file a verbal or written complaint against a senior’s residence with the Service Quality and Complaints Commissioner, or directly with the establishment in question. The Commissioner is an impartial body that provides services that are confidential and free of charge.

As a health and social services user, you have the right to be informed of care provided and its consequences, various services, your state of health, etc. You can consult the Act Respecting Health Services and Social Services (L.R.Q. chap. S-4.2) for more information about the rights of users.

There are three categories of individuals that can file a complaint about a private senior’s residence:

1. You or a person representing you
2. The heir or legal representative of a deceased user
3. Any person who notices that the rights of a user or group of users were not respected

However, before filing a complaint, it may be worthwhile to discuss your concerns with the staff responsible for the care and services within the residence. If your first attempt is unsuccessful, you can start the official complaint process.

If you would like assistance in drafting your complaint, or to properly oversee and understand the process, you can contact one of the following resources in your administrative region: 

• Complaints Assistance and Support Centre (or CAAP in French)
• Comité des usagers ou comité des résidents de l’établissement
• The Service Quality and Complaints Commissioner

Once you have filed the complaint with the Service Quality and Complaints Commissioner, the Commissioner will review your complaint and the reasons for filing the complaint based on your version of the facts. The Commissioner will strive to obtain the points of view of the people and authorities that are the subject of your complaint. Then, 45 days after receiving your complaint, the Commissioner will inform you of its decision. If necessary, the Commissioner will make recommendations to the authority in question and will follow up with them.

If you do not receive the results of your complaint after 45 days, you can contact the Québec Ombudsman. The same applies if you are not satisfied with the results obtained by the Commissioner. The Québec Ombudsman will examine your complaint and process your complaint within 60 working days.

Sources: Québec.ca – Official site for the Government of Québec and the Ombudsman