Quebec's ombudsperson has handed a damning report to the National Assembly, focusing on health and social services.
The report mainly narrows in on CHSLDs, the province's long-term care facilities, with a series of faults found by ombudsperson Marie Rinfret.
Rinfret points to bureaucracy as a significant issue, noting that people who are sick, disabled, and poor have a mountain of paperwork to climb before they can be admitted to the facilities.
The facilities also often take people with disabilities even though they aren't adapted for them.
In her report, Rinfret said the system is rife with poor service quality and long wait times. Seniors sometimes have to wait years to get admitted until their condition has deteriorated to the point they end up being taken in on an emergency basis.
Refugees are also spotlighted as being a vulnerable group. Rinfret writes the system won't admit a refugee child until the family's file is settled, even if the child is born in Quebec.
"These children, even though their parents don't have permanent status, they're living in Quebec. And they go to school, they have this life in Quebec and we feel it's important for them to have access to health care as well," said deputy ombudsperson Hélène Vallières.
This is an issue the office first noted in a report handed down in May 2018. Rinfret recommends the province dramatically cut down on paperwork requirements and loosen the rules on giving refugees and their children access to the healthcare system.
