Bill 197: An Act to improve the quality of care through the setting of ratios in certain institutions governed by the Act respecting health services and social services

This bill primarily affects healthcare institutions in Quebec — specifically hospital centres and residential and long-term care centres (CHSLDs) — whether operated publicly or under contract with the health system. Day-to-day operations like scheduling, staffing levels, and shift planning for nursing and attendant staff will need to align with government-mandated ratios. Larger institutions with multiple departments (surgery, general medicine, emergency) will face the broadest operational changes, as each unit type may have distinct ratio requirements. Smaller long-term care facilities will also be directly affected, potentially needing to hire additional staff to meet the minimums, which could increase their labour costs significantly.