History

The Regroupement provincial des comités des usagers (RPCU) was born from an initiative of the users committee of the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, together with some twenty other users committees of hospital centres in various regions of Quebec.

These committees wanted to meet the needs of users committee members, who had expressed a wish to break their isolation, foster a sense of belonging, encourage the sharing of expertise and have an effective spokesperson with the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux.

An initial exploratory meeting held on June 13, 2003, led to the creation of a provisional committee, made up of representatives of users committees from ten facilities across Quebec:

• Centre hospitalier Anna-Laberge;
• Centre hospitalier Pierre-Le Gardeur;
• Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec;
• Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal;
• Centre hospitalier des vallées de l’Outaouais;
• Centre de santé et de services sociaux Cléophas-Claveau;
• McGill University Health Centre;
• Hôpital Laval;
• Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal;
• Hôtel-Dieu d’Arthabaska.

The provisional committee’s first mandate was to create a group of users committees of short-term care hospital centres. This was followed by the creation of the RPCU, which officially received its letters patent in 2004 under Part III of the Companies Act.

At the same time, the Quebec government was reorganizing the province’s health system. In 2003, it adopted Bill 25 (An Act respecting local health and social services network development agencies, R.S.Q., 2005, c. A-8-1.), which led to the creation of local health and social services networks and the establishment of 95 health and social services centres in Quebec. Then, in November 2005, the National Assembly adopted Bill 83 (An Act to amend the Act respecting health services and social services and other legislative provisions, R.S.Q., 2005, c. 32), which changed the organizational structure of users committees and in-patients committees throughout the health and social services network.

Following this reorganization, the provisional committee adapted its mandate and worked to create a provincial group for all users committees and in-patients committees in all health and social services facilities, whatever their mission.
To do so, it made sure that representatives of every mission sit on the RPCU:

• affiliated hospital centres;
• university hospital centres;
• psychiatric hospital centres;
• youth centres;
• rehabilitation centres for intellectual disabilities;
• rehabilitation centres for physical disabilities;
• addiction rehabilitation centres (alcohol, drugs, medication and gambling);
• health and social services centres.

The provisional committee wanted to offer all users committees and in-patients committees of Quebec’s health and social services facilities a group that would represent them before government bodies, health facilities, the public and the media. This group would also allow them to take part in major debates on the same footing as all other organizations in the province’s health and social services sector. Above all, it wanted to support users committees and in-patients committees, aware of the operational difficulties they faced, which could prevent them from fully playing their role.

All health and social services facilities are required to set up a users committee and, where applicable, a in-patients committee.

The needs of committees vary according to the clientele they represent. Their mandate must therefore be adapted to the reality of their setting. This mandate has always been set out in the Act respecting health services and social services (R.S.Q., c. S-4.2), but it has evolved over the various reforms of Quebec’s health and social services system. Today, it mainly focuses on respect for users’ rights, the promotion of improvements in the quality of services and living conditions, and client satisfaction.

2024 marks the RPCU’s twentieth year, an opportunity to recognize the contribution and loyalty of the users committees and in-patients committees that are members of the RPCU. Several activities and announcements will take place during this important year for our organization, so stay tuned!