Donald Teuma-Castelletti
BRISTOL Oct. 12, 2017
The Centre intégré de la santé et des services sociaux de l’Outaouais (CISSSO) held a public forum last Thursday night, discussing the last year’s reports and sharing plans for the upcoming year.
Held at the Jack Graham Community Centre, this stop was part of CISSSO’s annual regional tour, where everything from budgets through to the handling of complaints were broken down.

There was a ten per cent increase in complaints received over the previous year, with 451 files documented in 2016-17.
Financial aspect and care complaints were each up two per cent, and organization of the workplace and material resources complaints rose one per cent as well. Accessibility, interpersonal relations and individual rights complaints dropped by two percent each.
Requests for assistance were down by 19 per cent over the previous year.
The payroll is increasing, jumping to $532,407,942 budgeted for the 2017-18 payroll. This makes for a 2.16 per cent increase over what was actually spent on payroll last year, since the payroll total was $521,152,975.
The budget for 2017-18 lists a 6.04 per cent decrease in medical and surgical supplies expenses (budgeting for $28,291,345), as well as a 3.17 per cent decrease in drug expenses (down to $23,526,147). However, there is a 2.87 per cent increase (over five million dollars) in the budget for the ‘other’ category, under expenses.
The budget listed a 2.25 per cent increase in subsidies in the coming year, as they expect $728,226,095.
The panel pointed towards the funding of the satellite hemodialysis unit as one of their biggest announcements for the year. Once the project is complete the Pontiac Hospital’s dialysis unit will mean less travelling for those who need the service.
Renovations and staff training are required for this unit, but it’s all on track for 2018.
The panel also pointed towards greater funding for mental health services in the region, with a focus put on services for the autistic. The region will receive a portion of one million dollars, that will go towards these services. The exact amount is unavailable at this time.
More home care is also planned, intending to offer a wider range of services. The hope is to keep citizens living in their own homes as long as possible.
The forum was conducted entirely in French, opening with the opportunity to pose questions to the panel gathered. The panel was comprised of CISSSO youth representative Lise Coulombe, CISSSO CEO Jean Hébert, CISSSO English language governance and ethics representative Judy Millar, assistant commissioner of complaints and quality of services Marion Carrière, and commissioner of complaints and quality of services Louis-Philippe Mayrand.