Rights and Responsibilities of Users and Mental Health Professionals

Responsibilities of Staff and Users

Respect: Users are entitled to be treated with respect and dignity when receiving services.

Confidentiality: The personal information that users share with us is confidential. This information shall never be shared with another person or organization without the user’s notification and written consent. If a law or court order dictates that information regarding a user must be shared with a third party, the user will be notified.

Participation: Users are entitled to participate actively in the process of identifying the services they need and in decisions regarding their care.

Representation: Users are entitled to be represented by a person of their choice, whether a family member, friend, community group, or the Users’ Committee, when requesting or receiving a service or making a complaint.

User Rights and Responsibilities

Services in a language of your choice: Users are entitled to receive personalized, quality service in French or English.

Access to records: Users are entitled to consult their records upon official request. We will inform users of procedures to follow and assist users. If the CIUSSS, in consultation with the attending physician, feels that the information risks harming a user’s health, the record or certain parts of the record may be temporarily withheld. The user may appeal this decision to the Commission d'accès à l’information. We will assist the user in this process.

Complaints: We take care to offer quality services to our users. If users are not satisfied, they may make a complaint to the Local Service Quality and Complaints Commissioner. If users are not satisfied with the results, they may contact the health and social services ombudsman.

Safety: Users are entitled to receive quality healthcare and social services in a safe manner.

Code of Ethics

See Code of Ethics

CIUSSS Users’ Committee

See Users’ Committee

Local Service Quality and Complaints Commissioner

See Complaints and Satisfaction

Free and Informed Consent

What is consent to care?

It is the user’s fundamental right to accept or decline an intervention without being subject to pressure or threats. It encompasses medication, assessment, treatment, procedures, etc.

Who must consent?

The user*

Minors 14 and older:

  • Have the right to consent to their own care.
  • If they refuse, they have partial autonomy.

Minors under 14:

  • Consent must be obtained from the person with parental authority.

If the user is deemed incapacitated under law, the designated individual can give consent.

Page last updated on 

We always seek feedback to make our site better.