Hospital - Access to physiotherapy: unreasonable wait times

A patient filed a complaint against a hospital. The Ombudsman discovered that she had been waiting for physiotherapy treatments from the hospital for five years.

Following an initial screening, her case had been evaluated as “semi-urgent.” At that point, she was advised to use private services, as the wait was very long for people in her situation. The waiting list of 600 patients meant that only those assessed as “urgent” could receive services.

The Québec Ombudsman launched an investigation:

• To look into wait times for treatment by a physiotherapist.

The Québec Ombudsman’s investigation showed that:

• over 600 people were waiting to be treated by a physiotherapist; 
• the hospital did not have sufficient physiotherapy resources to significantly reduce wait times;
• only “urgent” cases and those referred by the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail were treated promptly because of an agreement with the Commission specifying that its patients would be seen within five days;
• the Local Service Quality and Complaints Commissioner had warned the patient that it was unlikely that the institution would be able to provide the physiotherapy services required. He advised her to go to a private physiotherapy clinic.

The institution’s actions were in compliance with the Act respecting health services and social services because the services it provided reflected available resources. For this reason, the Ombudsman made no recommendation. However, the Ombudsman remains on alert regarding equality of access to services for those with the means to pay for private insurance or private services and those who are reluctant to pay for or deprive themselves of such services to the detriment of their health.