Regional health coalition SOS Outaouais is gathering data from residents’ first-hand experiences and their opinions on the region’s health-care system, which has been a concern for some time.
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 health-care network.
To better paint the reality of residents in Outaouais, the coalition launched a bilingual online consultation platform in late July. Consisting of two sections, the consultation process will allow SOS Outaouais to get a pulse check and to provide solutions to the challenges facing the health-care 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 opinions on the government’s efforts, funding allocated to the region, levels of concern, and the possible repercussions of what has been described as decades of neglect and underfunding.
The second portion asks residents to share their experiences with the region’s health-care system. “What we’ve been experiencing so far is a lot of people have some pretty horrible stories about how they’re being affected … because of what we’re dealing with in this region,” said Pigeon.
To help put faces to the numbers, the coalition plans to work with individuals who are willing to come forward and share these experiences with the public.
“What I’m seeing from the platform is a basic reflection of what we thought it was going to be. There’s a lot of people who are worried for themselves, for their families, 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, one even 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,” stated Pigeon.
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 health-care 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 health-care network, SOS Outaouais has launched various initiatives to encourage residents to lend their voice to the movement.
Photo credit: SOS Outaouais Facebook Page