The three opposition parties denounced in unison, on Wednesday, the “excessive amount” that must be paid by patients of the CIUSSS de l’Estrie-Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke (CHUS) who have been discharged from the hospital and who refuse a place in a transitional housing environment.
During a press briefing at the National Assembly, PQ MP Joël Arseneau said that the bill of $429 per day is “scandalous”, echoing the words of the Council for the Protection of the Sick. “When it comes to solving the problems of the health system, can we look at the human being first and particularly the most vulnerable people?”, affirmed Mr. Arseneau.
Wednesday, The duty reported that the CIUSSS de l’Estrie-CHUS raised more than four million dollars in three years by imposing fees on patients who refused a place in a transitional accommodation after being discharged from hospital. Health institutions are required to charge these sums, by virtue of an application regulation of the Act respecting health services and social services. The amount is “determined by the provincial government,” said the CIUSSS.
Victoria Della Porta, however, refused to pay this bill intended for her 86-year-old unfit mother. The latter was first offered a place in a CHSLD in Granby, 50 kilometers from where her daughter lives. The CIUSSS then offered the patient a room in a CHSLD in Sutton, closer to where Mrs. Della Porta, who is the caregiver, lives.
Similar situations are occurring in other regions, added André Fortin, Liberal MP for Pontiac, in Outaouais. “We tell people: “We offer you a place in a CHSLD 50 km, 60 km, 70 km from your home where your loved ones will not be able to visit you daily, where you will not be in your community. […] And a few days later, we are able to offer a place 5 km, 10 km, 15 km from the patient’s residence.
According to Mr. Fortin, there is a “lack of humanity” behind these decision-making. Some people are forced to accept a room in a CHSLD far from their loved ones because they cannot afford to pay $429 a day.
For his part, the deputy of Quebec solidaire Vincent Marissal worried about the well-being of patients who are treated in a health system “very, very shaken”. “These people, at the moment, they are being harmed,” he said.
With Marie-Eve Cousineau
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