Union sounds alarm over 'critical situation' at care home for seniors in Laval, Que.
The union representing the workers – the Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux (APTS) – says the government needs to act now, after some members reported seeing instances of mistreatment and inadequate care at the home.
"There are people who suffer from heat, suffer from dehydration, who do not eat enough, who are washed with pillowcases," said APTS president Robert Comeau in French.
"For us that is unacceptable."
Comeau described situations where residents are brought trays of food, but go hungry because they are unable to feed themselves. In other cases, they develop fungal infections on their feet due to a lack of basic hygiene services.
Sanjay Pentiah said his 87-year-old mother has been living there for almost three years.
As he visited with her on Friday, he spoke to CBC and also expressed dissatisfaction with the facility's sanitation.
"There's a lot to do, her room needs to be cleaned more often," Pentiah said, adding the bathroom is especially problematic.
Comeau, for his part, said that despite having signalled these issues to the appropriate health authorities at the end of May, little has been done to address them.
Le Dufresne, is a private residence that provides care to people experiencing a loss of autonomy and operates in partnership with Quebec's public health network.
Comeau explained that APTS members are social workers, technicians and psycho-educators who, through the regional health authority, the CISSS de Laval, are assigned to the home.
"They are not employees of the residence but external suppliers," he said.
WATCH | CHSLD reflects on lessons learned 5 years after pandemic:
4 months ago
The COVID-19 pandemic's first wave tore through Quebec's long-term care homes, killing more than 5,000 seniors between March 2020 and March 2021. A coroner's report revealed that there was a lack of protective equipment, staff and training in the facilities. Five years later, the province says CHSLDs are doing better.
In a statement written in French, the office for Lionel Carmant, the minister responsible for social services, confirmed the APTS had sent him a letter regarding observed shortcomings in the provision of care.
"We immediately contacted Santé Québec to obtain more information regarding the allegations raised," the statement reads. "The information received is reassuring regarding the quality of care provided."
It continues by stating that several actions have been taken to remedy the situation as quickly as possible and that an investigation is underway by Santé Québec's national inspector.
Meanwhile, in a email sent to residents and family caregivers, the CISSS de Laval reiterated that it is collaborating with the Dufresne residence to ensure the quality and safe delivery of care and services.
To that end, the residence has made several adjustments in recent months and significant investments were made to improve infrastructure, the CISSS said, without elaborating on what changes were made.
The CISSS also said it is continually looking to identify areas for improvement and adopt new approaches and says it will welcome any recommendations stemming from Santé Québec's investigation, whose report is due in the fall.
Change should come sooner rather than later, says union
Comeau, was critical of the investigation saying it keeps getting pushed back and needs to be done now.
"There are some people who are suffering," he said.
He also wondered why the workers who first reported issues had yet to be interviewed and said that despite reassurances to the contrary, they had not seen any tangible improvements.
He clarified that the complaints weren't directed at Le Dufresne employees, but rather the institution for failing to provide adequate services.
"We are not ready to throw a stone at the people who work there," Comeau said, adding there might be staffing issues or workers might not have the right training.
Monique Pratt, a nurse who visits the residence maybe once a week, said she doesn't spend enough time there to be able to say if services are adequate.
She did, however, say that she feels there isn't enough personnel — a problem across several intermediate care residences, she said.
Patrick Martin Ménard, a medical liability lawyer, said Santé Québec's primary responsibility is to protect users and says transparency is key.
"When we receive this type of call for help, it's important that we intervene decisively and demonstrate all possible transparency to shed light on the situation and also try to understand what led to it," he said.
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