A panel of Lanaudière users, who find it absurd that free WI-FI access isn’t the norm across the health network, are trying to turn things around.
• Also read: It is not normal for Wi-fi to be free at McDonald’s, but not at the hospital, the commission says
At many health facilities in Quebec, you still have to pay to use the internet. Others simply don’t provide the service.
“It is not normal that at McDonald’s we have access to the Internet, and in our accommodation rooms at home, because it is a living environment, we do not have access to the Internet,” Patient Protection Council President Paul Brunet supports,
A committee of users from Lanaudière has been fighting for three years against the ministry for allowing the Pierre-Le Gardeur hospital, in Terrebonne, as well as three CHSLDs in the area, to offer free internet access.
“We were scammed for three years and, in the end, it cost us $20,000! I don’t find it a very, very, very big amount,” says Louise Henrichon, chair of the user committee at CISSS du Sud de Lanaudière.
Pierre Le Gardère Hospital will finally get free internet access in the fall. However, this is not the same story for the three CHSLDs in Lanaudière, as residents who live there permanently have yet to do without.
“It’s a living environment, isn’t it? This is their last place of residence, CHSLD. So why haven’t they been allowed access so far in 2023? I find that incomprehensible,” says Ms. Henrichon.
Although many hospitals in Montreal have free internet access, the situation is far from the same in the regions.
“Half of the CHSLDs are equipped. We are thinking of equipping their users. The other half, there is nothing,” explains Paul Brunet.
The Ministry of Health and Minister Christian Dube’s office did not answer questions from TVA Nouvelles on Thursday. As for the Users Committee, it asks the Minister to make universal Internet access available in all health institutions in Quebec.
To see the full report, watch the video above.
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