SOS Outaouais Consultation

Local health coalition consults public about encounters with healthcare system

Taylor Clark

SOS Outaouais plans to gather data and first-hand experiences about residents’ opinions on the region’s healthcare system which has been under fire for some months.

Coordinated by the Gatineau Health Foundation, the regional health coalition brings together organizations and citizens across Outaouais in a collective voice to call on the National Assembly of Québec to remedy the region’s crumbling healthcare network.

To better paint the reality of residents in Outaouais, the coalition launched an online bilingual consultation platform in late July. Consisting of two sections, the consultation process will allow SOS Outaouais to gather a pulse and provide solutions to the challenges facing the health sector.  “It’s a pretty neat tool that we’ve been able to put forward and keep that momentum going during the summer,” said Jean Pigeon, Gatineau Health Foundation executive director and coalition spokesperson.

The first section allows users to share their opinion on the government’s efforts, funding allocated to the region, levels of concern, and the possible repercussions of what was described as decades of neglect and underfunding.

The second portion asks residents to share their experiences with the region’s healthcare system. “What we’ve been experiencing so far is a lot of people have some pretty horrible story about how they’re being affected themselves personally because of what we’re dealing with in this region,” said Pigeon.

The coalition plans to work with the individuals who are willing to come forward and share these experiences with the public to put faces to the numbers. “What I’m seeing from the platform is a basic reflection of what we actually thought it was going to be. There’s a lot of people that are worried for themselves, for their family, for their friends.”

As of early August, over 160 individuals have participated in the consultation process. Many condemned the province for the lack of consideration for those in Outaouais, even one comment stating they were saving money to move across the bridge “to protect (their) future.”

Along with the online platform, the coalition has also been distributing free lawn signs to amplify the movement throughout the region. “I know there’s been a lot of those signs that went out and I’ve actually seen some in my neighbourhood.”

Only spanning a few questions, the consultation process takes minutes to complete depending on the amount written. As the situation continues to unfold in the region’s healthcare network, the coalition plans to continue utilizing the platform to gauge residents’ opinions.

To lend your voice and participate in the consultation visit sos-outaouais.v3.cocoriko.org/. For more information on the coalition and to acquire a lawn sign check out the SOS Outaouais website at sosoutaouais.ca.

Photo caption: To keep the momentum going around the demands to correct the Outaouais healthcare network, SOS Outaouais has launched various initiatives to encourage residents to lend their voice to the movement.

Photo credit: Courtesy SOS Outaouais