The waste that paralyzes our home care

Here is the story of an occupational therapist. However, who sometimes feels like working in the Maison des Fous des 12 ASTERIX works So the bureaucracy of the CLSCs is absurd.

He lost a large part of his weeks to take unnecessarily complicated steps. Meanwhile, instead of fully devoting himself to home care.

For example. For example, it can take him about ten hours to get a ambulator – a kind of walking with brakes – when it only takes ten minutes to get the same equipment for a person covered by the SAAQ or the CNESST.

waste paralyzes our home care

What takes so long? For example, You must fill out long forms, visit the patient several times … Additionally, For example, When he is social assistance provider, it’s even more complicated. In addition, The ERGO must take other tedious steps for social assistance to reimburse part of the ambulator which is worth around $ 300.

A government program reimburses another part. However, But we agree that at the end, it is the same taxpayer who pays the invoice. Meanwhile, And this invoice is swollen because of the time lost by the occupational therapist.

In the end. Therefore, its professional services and its mileage may cost the state three or four times more than the value of the equipment itself.

Real beautiful waste! Therefore, And then we wonder why we pay waste paralyzes our home care a lot of tax and it is difficult to obtain services!

“I confirm that it is long. that there would be a way to make it simpler,” says Marie-France Jobin, director of development and the quality of the exercise of the occupational therapists in Quebec.

It’s been years since this program has existed. Optimization work is underway. But it is not easy either, because it is necessary to modify regulations which are themselves complicated.

In short, complexity is coated with another layer of complexity.

If only this story of a visit was a separate case. No way ! Home care is paralyzed by bureaucracy.

According to health estimates Quebec. some professionals (occupational therapists, physiotherapists) devote most of their time to non -clinical activities: trips, coordination, waste paralyzes our home care documentation and installation of equipment.

In the end, they only go from 25 to 35 % of their week to patients. It is extremely worrying.

Especially since 18,000 Quebecers languish while waiting for a first home care, almost twice as much as in early 2019.

And recently, beneficiaries have been cut off hours of service, while Health Québec is looking for savings of $ 1.5 billion.

The office of the Minister for Health waste paralyzes our home care Delegate and responsible for seniors, Sonia Bélanger, assures that there has been no ministerial directive aimed at reducing the hours of home care. On the contrary, budgets have been increased.

But the dashboard of the health network shows that the cumulative number of hours. in home support has lowered slightly (-1.2 %) for a year.

However, it must be recognized that the Coalition Avenir Québec has not skimped on home care. Since coming to power, in 2018, the CAQ has injected an additional 2.6 billion, an increase of 40 %. And the number of hours of service jumped 78 %.

But by reducing waste, you could offer much more.

The government is aware of this. He has just launched the VSAD+ project (valuation of home support) to reduce non -essential waste paralyzes our home care tasks and release clinical time. After 140 days in the field and the consultation of 325 stakeholders, we already see improvements.

Take social workers. Instead of making an annual evaluation systematically. in all their files, they are asked to do so only when the exercise is clinically relevant. This directive has allowed a reduction in exhaustive assessments from 15 to 20 % in several territories. The time saved has been reallocated to more useful interventions.

We could go so much further.

If we entrusted more tasks to technicians or other resources, we would release the schedule of ergos and physios. No need for a professional to install a bar in the bathroom! Other speakers can very well do it, with a help guide.

If we recognized the ergos. physios at waste paralyzes our home care the height of their skills, we would unload doctors who are often called in reinforcement for nothing.

Why require a medical certificate so that RAMQ will reimburse the costs of an assistance dog?

If the CLSCs organized home tours with effective technological tools. we would limit the poorly planned back and forth, you would maximize visits and we would reduce the reimbursement of the mileage for the use of the vehicle.

Next October, Minister Sonia Bélanger is due to present her national home care policy. This plan will be critical for the entire health network. Many hospital beds could be released by offering appropriate home care.

Hopefully this plan will not be stuck by the bureaucratic machine.