CISSSO

André Fortin, SOS Outaouais decry $90 million expense reduction by regional health network

November 25, 2024 by Caleb Nickerson

Pontiac MNA André Fortin and health advocacy group SOS Outaouais are speaking out after the provincial government has announced that all local health care networks must balance their budgets by the end of the fiscal year. For the regional health authority CISSSO, this would mean a reduction of expenses by $90 million over the next few months, or roughly 6% of their annual budget.

CISSSO’s Director Dr. Marc Bilodeau told Radio-Canada that the reduction was a big challenge, and attributed the deficit mainly to the cost of home care and using private agencies to fill staffing gaps.

SOS Outaouais’ spokesperson Jean Pigeon said that it’s surprising that the province would be taking these actions when the CAQ minister responsible for the Outaouais, Mathieu Lacombe, has stated publicly that the region’s health care services are underfunded. According to the Observatoire du développement de l’Outaouais, this represents a shortfall of roughly $180 million per year for health and social services spending per capita compared to other parts of Quebec.

A man in a suit with a grey beard stands during a press scrum

CISSSO CEO visits Pontiac during tour of region

October 2, 2024 by Caleb Nickerson

Dr. Marc Bilodeau, CEO of regional health authority CISSSO, was in Shawville at the Pontiac Hospital on Monday September 30 for a meeting with local representatives. This is Bilodeau’s second tour of the region since taking th e helm of the organization in January 2024.

Bilodeau spoke about the recent news reported in Le Droit that the CISSSO was projecting a deficit of $70 million this fiscal year. He said that an aging population which increases demand for long-term care, as well as increased costs for goods and services, were key drivers of this situation. He added that their reliance on private staffing agencies was also a big factor.

Bilodeau also spoke about the organization’s efforts to cut back on the use of private agency staff, which the province is requiring that they phase out by October 2026. He said that they can look to regions that have earlier deadlines to end this practice as a guide.

A group of people gather in a conference room, with a table at the front. There are fourteen people in the photo.

Local health care users’ committee discusses issues related to patient care at AGM

September 25, 2024 by Caleb Nickerson

About twenty people attended the Pontiac users’ committee annual general meeting, which was conducted on Monday, September 23, at the CLSC in Shawville by the regional health authority CISSSO.

The committee informs patients of their rights within the healthcare system and provides a forum for community members to provide input on the quality of care received from the health authority.

Nicole Boucher Larivière, a CISSSO representative for the Pontiac users, was present at the conference. Jean Pigeon, the director of the Gatineau Health Foundation and representative for the activist organization SOS Outaouais, was the meeting’s special guest.

Pigeon brought attention to the area’s reliance on private agency nurses, which account for roughly half of the nursing staff at Pontiac Hospital. That number was verified by Boucher Larivière, who also stated that the ratio had greatly grown in the years after the pandemic.

Only one imagery tech departs Pontiac Hospital for city — most have chosen to stay

September 13, 2024 by Caleb Nickerson

Following Saturday’s news that the provincial government had equalized the bonuses for medical imagery technicians in the Outaouais, regional health authority CISSSO is reporting that only one tech out of four has followed through on their application to work in the city. This leaves the Pontiac Hospital with five out of eight full-time positions filled, with another two part-time staff available to fill in.

CISSSO’s Pontiac representative Nicole Boucher Larivière said that they were pleased to report that most of the technicians had chosen to stay. She added that one tech had interviewed to work in a facility in Ontario, but at this point hadn’t informed them that they were leaving Pontiac.

She explained that they would be able to maintain services as before, albeit with some more overtime and on-call hours, which she said wasn’t ideal but was a “scenario [they] can live with.” She said that she hoped the $22,000 annual bonus offered for the next two years would make their recruitment efforts more competitive with other facilities in the region.

A drone shot of the Pontiac Hospital. The building is a low rise building, sitting on green space with parking lots all around it.

Bonuses equalized for Outaouais imagery techs

September 9, 2024 by Caleb Nickerson

On Saturday (September 7) Health Minister Christian Dubé announced that the government would be equalizing the bonuses offered to medical imagery technicians in Outaouais health facilities.

The saga of technologist bonuses began in the spring, when they were initially offered to techs in the Hull and Gatineau hospitals before smaller bonuses were offered to those in the rest of the region over the course of the summer, due to concerns about staff leaving for facilities where the bonuses were higher. Five of the six full-time techs at the Pontiac Hospital have applied to work elsewhere, but it’s unclear how many will actually leave.

Jean Pigeon, spokesperson for advocacy group SOS Outaouais, said that while it’s a small victory, it’s only a short-term fix to a long-term problem. Pontiac MNA André Fortin was positive about the change, but added that it was only a start.

The ER entrance at the Pontiac Hospital, coloured blue and white.

Class action lawsuit has potential to benefit patients hospitalized involuntarily

September 9, 2024 by Caleb Nickerson

Compensation may soon be available for those who have been involuntarily hospitalized for longer than 72 hours.

Mélodie Pelletier, a communications agent with Droits-Accès de l’Outaouais, an organization that advocates for the rights of people with mental illness, explained that those who have been held for more than 72 hours may be eligible for compensation from the provincial government thanks to a class action lawsuit by the group Action Autonomie. She said that under law P-38, patients can be to be held involuntarily at a health facility if they are deemed to be a danger to themselves or others, however, the rules aren’t always followed.

Pelletier said that according to the latest numbers she has access to, there were 750 involuntary hospitalizations in the Outaouais in 2022 alone, more than two a day. She added that the lawsuit only covers those who were hospitalized after 2015, and they will know more about the results of the suit when it is finalized later this fall.

The entrance sign for Rapides-des-Joachims, with a blue green background. The graphic depicts a body of water with a silhouette of fishermen in a boat, a green swatch of colour representing aforest, and a red and yellow sun superimposed with a departing blue and white float plane.

Rapides-des-Joachims seeks to address interprovincial health care issues

September 5, 2024 by Caleb Nickerson

A small island community in the Ottawa River is looking at ways to strengthen its health services in Quebec, the province where it is located, instead of having to rely on health services on the Ontario side of the river.

Situated to the northwest of the rest of the MRC Pontiac, the tiny island community of Rapides-des-Joachims is only accessible from the Ontario side of the river. Due to long-standing agreements, the municipality is serviced by ambulances from Ontario, and patients routinely receive health care at the hospitals in Deep River and Pembroke.

Mayor Lucie Rivet Paquette explained that they were looking to find some kind of inter-provincial agreement for patients requiring longer stays in hospital, such as those recovering from a surgery. CHIP News spoke to the Mayor and also Outaouais health authority CISSSO’s Pontiac representative Nicole Boucher Larivière.

A closeup of the ER entrance sign at the Pontiac Hospital.

Changes coming to Quebec’s medical assistance in dying legislation, CISSSO expert explains

August 15, 2024 by Caleb Nickerson

With changes to Quebec’s medical assistance in dying (MAID) law expected to come into force this fall, CHIP 101.9 spoke with an expert from regional health authority CISSSO to find out more about what this means for Outaouais residents. The changes would allow someone with a degenerative disease such as Alzheimer’s to make an advance request for MAID before their condition deteriorates and they are unable to consent.

Dr. Guy Morissette, CISSSO’s MAID coordinator, explained that Quebec’s rules for MAID have evolved since they were first introduced, and differ from other jurisdictions in Canada.

Morissette estimated that in the Outaouais this year there were roughly 300 requests for MAID, with just under 200 approved, and said he anticipated between 350 to 400 requests next year. He said that the year-to-year increase is likely due to more people learning about and researching MAID, adding that around two thirds of those requesting it are cancer patients.

As imagery technician exodus looms, Pontiac CISSSO rep lays out options

August 8, 2024 by Caleb Nickerson

With the looming possibility of the majority of the medical imagery technicians departing the Pontiac Hospital, the regional health authority CISSSO spoke with CHIP 101.9 about their planning for the weeks ahead.

Imagery technicians handle several types of examinations, from CT scans to x-rays, and quick access to these services is vital in emergency situations.

On Sept. 9, the offers for the positions in the city will be finalized, but it’s currently unclear how many of those who have applied will be accepted and will actually follow through with leaving. Further complicating the situation, negotiations between the union representing the techs (APTS) and the provincial government are still ongoing, and any new developments could factor into the technicians’ decision making.

CISSSO’s Pontiac representative Nicole Boucher-Larivière said that once they find out how many technicians are leaving on Sept. 9, there will be negotiations with the APTS to determine the timeline of their departure so as to minimize disruptions in service.

SOS Outaouais launches online survey on regional health system

July 26, 2024 by Caleb Nickerson

The SOS Outaouais coalition is inviting residents to express their opinion on the region’s health system with the launch of an online survey earlier this month.

Luc Cadieux, president of the Fondation Santé Gatineau (the organization leading the coalition) explained that the survey is both a way to increase the membership and public profile of SOS Outaouais, and also for patients to share their experiences with the regional health network.

The group was created in June of this year, after several doctors spoke out about the worsening conditions in the regional health care system. Earlier this summer, Le Droit reported on the contingency plan that was developed by the CISSSO on possible scenarios if a lack of staff causes breaks in service over the summer holiday period at their main hospitals in Hull and Gatineau.

While the plan hasn’t been implemented thus far, Cadieux noted that the fragility of the system will persist beyond the summer if the government doesn’t take action.

The entrance to the emergency department at the Pontiac Hospital. The sign is blue at the top, white at the bottom with the words "Urgence/Emergency" written in red.

Government extends $18,000 bonuses to Pontiac imagery techs

July 16, 2024 by Caleb Nickerson

Late last week, the Quebec government announced that it had come to an agreement with the APTS, the union representing imagery technicians in the region, to extend bonuses of $18,000 to technicians working in the Pontiac region.

The bonuses are equivalent to the ones offered to staff at the Maniwaki Hospital, however, are $4,000 less than those offered to staff at the Hull, Gatineau and Papineau hospitals. When those bonuses were offered earlier in the summer and not extended to the Pontiac Hospital, several local techs applied to transfer to the facilities in the city.

Announcing the changes last week, Gatineau MNA Robert Bussière said that the bonuses now offered in rural areas are sufficient to prevent imaging technicians from leaving.

In a video posted to his social media, Pontiac MNA André Fortin said that the bonuses would not be sufficient to retain staff in the area and called on the government to equalize the bonuses throughout the entire region.

The entrance sign to the emergency department at the Pontiac Hospital.

Pontiac doctors pen open letter regarding imagery technician pay disparity

July 10, 2024 by Caleb Nickerson

A group of Pontiac physicians have penned an open letter to Quebec’s Health Minister Christian Dubé, requesting that he urgently address the pay disparities for imagery technicians working at the Pontiac Hospital and other facilities in the region.

“We are proud of the services we can still offer to the people of the Pontiac, but with a major salary disadvantage for our technicians, we risk losing them and finding ourselves without these services,” they wrote.

Dr. John Wootton, who oversees the region’s family medicine group and has worked in the Pontiac since 1983, was one of the seven physicians who signed the letter, along with the hospital’s head surgeon, chief of anesthesiology and chief of the emergency department. He said that subjecting local technicians to a “political dogfight” is unacceptable and putting a lot of strain on the local network.