Santé Québec demonstrates that home support is improving

Santé Québec is pleased that since taking office, two indicators have been positive for home care. Compared to last year, 9,300 more users are receiving home support, and the waiting list for initial services has dropped by 12 per cent. However, there has been a reduction in the number of hours provided.

In 2024–2025, 395,700 people in Quebec will have received home care services, representing a 2.4 per cent increase compared to the previous period. A total of 38.2 million hours were provided this year, 400,000 fewer hours than in 2023–2024.

Paul Guyot, Director of Residential Services and Accommodation at Santé Québec, attributes the results to three main factors. Caseloads (time spent with users) have been reviewed; staff routes have been optimized to see as many users as possible; and the administrative burden has been reduced.

The reduction in paperwork has allowed us to recover more than 100,000 hours, which are now devoted to direct care, says Santé Québec.

Regarding the reduction in the number of hours spent with users, Guyot assures that the assessment of individuals still aims to meet their needs, but with the right type of intervention.

“In some cases, the need may be met by someone other than the network directly. And sometimes, the need has worsened over time, and home support or home care may no longer be the solution for that person, but perhaps accommodation,” he explains.

“After a certain number of hours spent at home, it becomes complicated to keep someone at home, for their safety, their quality of life, and the quality of life of their loved ones.” […] We try to generalize about home support, but we must understand that it’s really a case-by-case situation for each user across the province,” he says.

The reasons for the drop in the number of hours are multifactorial.

“There were budget surpluses, and at other times there were fewer. There was independent labour in facilities that was very active before last year, but that was completely halted in the network last year. These are factors that have an impact on the figures,” says Guyot.

Asked to comment on the Santé Québec data, J. Benoit Caron, Executive Director of the Social Economy Home Support Enterprises Cooperation Network (EÉSAD), points out that intervening more quickly with certain people means their health doesn’t deteriorate as quickly, requiring fewer hours of service. This could be one possible explanation, he says.

“A shift is taking place”

The indicators for EÉSADs are also positive. One of their programs administered by the Quebec Health Insurance Plan shows encouraging results. “For the 2024-2025 year, whether in terms of number of hours or number of users, in all aspects, growth varies from 8 to 11 per cent,” he says.

For example, there are 6.1 million hours of service, approximately 200,000 more than last year.

Social economy enterprises are external providers to the healthcare network, but they work with it to complement the service offering. “I don’t want to put on rose-colored glasses, but as we speak, I only see improvements,” says Caron.

He believes that “a shift is taking place.” He particularly mentions the expansion of the financial exemption program for domestic help services. “What we’ve been demanding for two years is to also include personal assistance and respite services, and the response is good.”

Stop multiplying the number of providers

In collaboration with Santé Québec and the Ministry of Health, the EÉSADs will participate in pilot projects in certain regions of Quebec with the goal of rolling out all services starting in spring 2026. “What we demanded was heard,” says Caron.

The EÉSADs have so far trained 3,500 home care workers to provide personal assistance services, and 250 more will be trained this fall. “We favor a mixed approach, meaning if we have a home care worker who goes out to do housework, if they’re trained, they can also help the person get dressed, wash, etc. So, we won’t have a proliferation of providers,” Caron emphasizes.

Guyot also points out that a policy on home support is expected this fall.

“Home support is really the preferred direction, whether it’s from the ministry or from Santé Québec. It’s really the direction we’re moving towards a lot. […] Staying at home is also what the population wants,” he says, adding that beyond the numbers, care and services allow people to remain in their homes as long as possible, which gives them a better quality of life.

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