Achi news desk-
The Legault government refused to open CLSCs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as requested by a coalition of seniors.
The Coalition Avner Quebec (CAQ) also refuses the demand of another group: recognition of the right to home care.
At a summit on home care held in Quebec City on Wednesday, the seniors’ group Coalition pour la dignité des aînés called for CLSCs to be the main entry point for people who need home care and support services. This will allow them to assess needs, provide information about available resources, and recommend the right professional or provider of care and service.
Quebec Solidaire (QS) MNA Christine Lavery brought the group’s demand to the floor of the legislature.
“This is a misunderstanding of the vision of CLSCs,” Sonia Belanger, the minister responsible for the elderly, said during question period.
“CLSC people are there to organize local services in the community. In the word CLSC, there is the C for community, so they are not emergency services, they are not 24/7 emergency services.”
QS came back with a privileged proposal that echoed the additional demand of the coalition: the adoption of a framework law to preserve autonomy, which would establish the right to home care and adapted housing at a reasonable price.
The government refused to discuss the proposal.
Currently, 90.7 percent of Quebecers do not have access to home health services, said Dr. Genevieve Decena, a home care pioneer, during a presentation at the Rendez-vous National sur le maintien à domicile meeting on Wednesday.
According to her, there are no real health services in residential environments, private senior living or intermediate resources, to ensure that the elderly remain independent and at home. “It is not surprising, then, that emergency rooms are crowded with patients,” she said.
When it comes to support at home, Health and Welfare Commissioner Joan Castonguay drew a disturbing balance sheet in a report earlier this year.
The commissioner stated that by 2023, the system provides only 10.7 percent of the support needs at home: it provides 25.4 million hours of services, while 234 million hours were required.
The system is therefore far from being universal, as advocated by the Health and Welfare Commissioner.
However, Belanger noted that 37 million hours of service were provided in the past year.
It also reported that the waiting list, which was 21,000 last year, had been reduced to 16,500 by March 31.
But this is still above the pre-pandemic figures. The number of people waiting for first service increased from 13,250 on March 31, 2019 to 17,226 on March 31, 2022.
At a press conference Thursday morning, Liberal MNA Linda Caron said her party was open to discussing the idea of ​​recognizing the right to support the House in legislation.
Home support services range from domestic help to babysitters, dismantling services, nutrition, family chores, personal care and more.
The system currently costs $7.6 billion a year, but by 2040 it will cost $16.5 billion, or $8.9 billion a year more.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 9, 2024.
