Dear Editor:
In days of yore people got by on what they had, with little official interference, as long as they were not a drain on the public purse. Now we have care facilities….some better than others.
Government promises…..at one time , age and income the deciding factor, they offered help with, housework, cooking, gardening and appointments….that got cut back. Then and now, volunteer groups, including churches filled the gap. There was no money to pay family members for care….we had to hire….of course now there are not enough to hire…..but we are working on that? Again, according to MLA. Job creation… Not necessarily underfunded…..but failing to do an adequate job. (now all of you who think things are just peachy keen be sure to contradict me).
If you and I had 50 seniors in care to look after…let’s divide that to….if you had twenty five seniors in care overnight, with varying degrees of disability and health problems don’t you think someone would be questioning your ability to do a proper job of keeping them safe? (Believe me, those numbers exist.) And believe me, someone would be ratting you out. Officialdom would be right in there…………But not when ‘ officialdom’ is backing the facility.
In too many cases, seniors are left soiled, unkempt and hungry….can also be dead and no one noticed…. meal trays are brought and taken away, if no family member or stand- in is there to feed. All this in government backed Interior Health Facilities. It is a racket, in the worst sense of the word….is this what we have to look forward too? Better we die young,’ with our boots on’ or nod off in our chair, before we are exposed to the ‘system’.
The latest cross Canada statistics re dementia attacks on others in care facilities is disgraceful. You can not cure or prevent dementia, it comes and goes (and I know whereof I speak) AND you do not know what may trigger an attack / outburst because it varies and they do not know themselves. There has to be a better way….you can not lock everyone up, in case of fire or flood, but safety of the individual…Your parents, spouse or child, should be foremost when in CARE for whatever reason.
Our schools are no longer safe, or our hospitals….. the number of ‘events’ there is shameful, Care facilities, where the person may have lost most of their individual rights should be even more responsible ..they are helpless.
Some of the more pertinent definitions of care: “close attention, heed, charge, protection, to look after provide. To feel concern about.” Believe me, IHA does not want to talk about ‘events’, nor does the College of Physicians and Surgeons. As for many of you out there…as long as it only happens to someone else…..does not make it right, does not condone it…….and it can, by the luck of the draw be you or yours. Someone had better come up with an answer PDQ.!
Maybe they never were safe, we possibly just did not hear about it. Cutbacks, long shifts, lack of empathy, all contribute, yes they work hard…..but do they all work at it? How would you like to be told, on discovering your parent suffering from neglect in a Care Facility…” if you don’t like it you can move her somewhere else”. True incident. This is only touching on the surface of what has become impersonal and totally out of control….bigger is better and……..for whom?
Buryl Slack