Two mothers of young heavily disabled adults deplore the lack of staff who mortgage services to the very recent house of the elders and alternative (MDAA) of Sainte-Foy.
“We build the plane in full flight. Cédric made a delirium when arriving. I had to take a three -month leave because there was no structure, ”explains Brigitte Proulx.
Like other buildings of this new model, the Sainte-Foy House of Seniors has an “alternative” block to accommodate 12 people with a major handicap.
Cédric Proulx, 29, has been placed in an institution since 2013. His mother, Brigitte, explains that he suffers from Med13L syndrome, a rare genetic disease which gives him a mental age of nine months and cognitive of two years.
As for Christelle Gauthier, 30, she suffers from polyneuropathy, a degenerative disease of the muscles which borders on a wheelchair. “She speaks, she writes, but she does not have the notion of time,” says her mother, Nancy Dufour, who kept her at home until a few years ago.
Nice place
“You can cook a cake, make a BBQ, residents can eat or get up at the time they want, it’s done so that it is at home. But there are not enough staff, where he is seated, ”deplores Brigitte Proulx.
“It’s brand new, all beautiful with a large bedroom and a private bathroom. But when it comes time to have service, it’s something else, ”adds Mr.me Dufour.
The two ladies say that since the arrival of their child at the opening of the MDAA 15 months ago, the staff cannot follow the instructions.
According to her mother Brigitte her son Cédric makes gingivitis due to deficient brushing.
Photo provided by Brigitte Proulx
“We are told that we are going to repeat, that we are going to put [les correctifs] on the board. But two weeks later, Cédric still has long nails, he has scratches. However, the nails are not bad the basis, ”says Mr.me Proulx.
Nancy Dufour recalls that each resident has their personalized intervention plan.
“We sometimes forget to leave my daughter her call bell to ask for help, she phone me with her cell phone. I must then call the nurse who then contacts the attendants. It is not supposed to arrive, it is unacceptable. ”, She says.
Depressive, his daughter stopped feeding at some point.
“Find her new activities and don’t leave her on the toilet 10 or 15 minutes when she shoots on the bell,” said her mother.
“It is not my daughter to adjust to the staff, it is the opposite. We were told that we would spend quality time, but when I go, I make her take her shower and make her eat. It is not for me to wash the toilet seat. For 15 months we have given them their chance to adjust, but there I am tired ”, plague mme Dufour.
Brigitte Proulx addressed last week to the complaint assistance and support center (CAAP).
Brigitte Proulx and her son Cédric Proulx in 2020.
Archives photo, QMI agency
She also highlights the absence of a family doctor. “Cédric was sent to the hospital by ambulance. He was only unhappy and had no one to accompany him. ”
Better than in CHSLD
The CIUSSS Capitale-Nationale claims that MDAAs have better resident ratios/CHSLD.
“When a resident, a member of his family or his legal tutor tells us about dissatisfaction, meetings can be organized in order to discuss them, answer questions and find solutions,” said Mariane Lajoie, spokesperson for Ciusss.
Examples of gaps observed by the two mothers
- Missing medication during outings
- Entrance denied by the mother to let out or enter the resident
- Defective entrance door
- Call bell that has not been given to the resident
- Insufficiently stimulated residents (few activities) or that do not work enough, which leads to various problems
- Resident left for too long without supervision
- Hygiene (hand washing, teeth brushing, cut for example) deficient
- Forgetting to install orthotics in shoes
- Automatic opening of chamber doors that has not been installed
- Antifugue bracelet that did not work for 6 weeks
- Loss of the suitable transport card
Fleaned, credit for caregiver
By placing their children at the Maison des Senés and Alternatives (MDAA) of Sainte-Foy last year, Nancy Dufour and Brigitte Proulx did not expect to lose their tax credit of around $ 1,500 for natural caregivers.
“I don’t understand it. Wherever Cédric was, I was entitled to it, ”insists Mme Proulx.
“And [à la MDAA] They had to accompany Cédric with the optometrist, they should pay a taxi. I’m going there, three, four or five times with the adjustments. Why do I cut me? He is not there for only a year or two. I take care of it as much as when it was in an intermediate resource, ”she says.
“The government cuts the credit to us once they are placed. But it is I who go to the meetings of Christelle and who moves for the intervention plan. Essence is expensive and I lack working time, ”insists Mme Dufour.
The commitment does not count
The Ministry of Revenue confirms that the caregiver tax credit is not granted when the helped person is hosted in a private elder residence (RPA) or in an installation of the public network like a MDAA.
“The simple fact of living in an RPA or a CHSLD makes the caregiver inadmissible to credit, regardless of their level of involvement,” replies Mylène Gagnon, public relations of the Ministry of Revenue.