2023-08-02 04:59:03
Waiting for a place in a CHSLD, Georges Labbé, 86, hoped to get a bed in an establishment near his daughters, in Quebec. But for administrative reasons, it is rather in a CHSLD of Montreal that he had to move this week. His children denounce a “deficient” and “insane” system of access to accommodation.
“We are not caregivers. We are distant caregivers, ”laments one of Georges Labbé’s four daughters, Johanne.
“The staff really do what they can. But we want to denounce the health system for its deficient care for aging people, particularly those with cognitive problems,” adds one of his other daughters, Lucie.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Georges Labbé and his daughter Manon
Until very recently, Georges Labbé, a former mechanic and executive in a cement plant, lived in a private residence for seniors in the Ahuntsic district of Montreal. The man who has always been sociable, independent and resilient received care at home. Despite his Alzheimer’s disease, he was quite functional and enjoying life. His daughters visited him regularly, but not every day. “He needed us less at that time,” says Lucie.
In recent months, Mr. Labbé has had a few falls. He had to be hospitalized in early June. His daughters supported each other in order to be present as often as possible at his bedside. And this, even if only one of them, Chantal, has a pied-à-terre in Montreal. However, she is about to move to Quebec, where Johanne and Manon live. Lucie lives for her part in Saint-Sauveur.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY FAMILY
Georges Labbé with his daughters Johanne (left) and Lucie (right)
Although his family has been with him almost daily since his hospitalization, Mr. Labbé has seen his condition deteriorate. He became increasingly confused and anxious. On June 29, the Labbé sisters were told that their father would be placed on a waiting list for a CHSLD bed. On Monday, he was moved to a “transitional” bed in a CHSLD north of Montreal.
Go to the emergency room…
From the start, the Labbé sisters nevertheless indicated that it would be desirable for their father to move to a CHSLD in Quebec. “But we were told that since his address is in Montreal, he would be moved to a transitional bed in Montreal. And we were told that to get a place in a CHSLD in Quebec, it could take a year, two years, three years, ”says Lucie. She asked if it would be possible for the “transitional” bed to be in Quebec. “It was impossible,” she says.
At the CIUSSS du Nord-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, it is mentioned that it is “the region of destination that processes the request for access to accommodation” of a user who wishes to change region. At the CISSS de la Capitale-Nationale, we say “not to have received a request for accommodation” for Mr. Labbé. “The transmission of a request belongs to the region that currently hosts the user, which is Montreal in this case,” said spokesperson Mariane Lajoie by email.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Georges Labbe
Feeling caught in the administrative maze, the Labbé sisters tried to find out if other solutions could be envisaged to speed up their father’s move to Quebec. They were told to take it home, which is not possible, explains Lucie.
“We were also told to take him to the emergency room ourselves in a hospital in Quebec,” she adds. That it could be that they make a request for a CHSLD bed in Quebec. But it could also be that they return him to an emergency room in Montreal…” “Facing the wall”, the Labbé sisters therefore resigned themselves to accepting a temporary place in Montreal.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY FAMILY
Georges Labbé and his daughter Johanne
Despite the distance, Johanne will continue to come to see her father in Montreal, as she already does. Suffering from vision problems, however, she must take the train and adapted transportation. ” It is a pleasure. But it’s tiring,” she said.
What drives me to despair is that this transitional bed in Montreal may be his last. This decision to settle in Montreal is to the detriment of his health.
Johanne Labbe
Requests that “get lost in the system”
The situation experienced by the Labbé family was decried in 2021 by the Québec Ombudsman. In a special report on access to public housing in Quebec, he denounced the fact that it is “very difficult, if not impossible, to obtain a place of housing outside the region of his current residence , with the personal and family repercussions that entails”.
Average waiting time to obtain a place in a CHSLD
On its territory: from 9 to 10 months
In another territory: 12 to 14 months
Source: special report by the Québec Ombudsman
The Protector wrote that requests for inter-territorial accommodation “fall off the radar” and “get lost in the system”. “This finding goes against the idea that bringing together people who are accommodated and their relatives should be encouraged”, is written in the report. The Québec Ombudsman asked that a “single mechanism for monitoring interterritorial requests be put in place and that access to accommodation in the host territory be facilitated”.
At the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS), it is indicated that the rules relating to interterritorial requests have been clarified since 2021 and mention that “any request for accommodation in an establishment in a territory must be treated on an equal basis. equality, regardless of the territory of origin of the request or of the user”.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY FAMILY
To comfort Georges Labbé, his family made this family tree and displayed it near his hospital bed.
For the Labbés, the situation experienced by their father is “insane”. “Every worker we meet agrees that for people with Alzheimer’s or neurocognitive disorders, this situation of uncertainty in the place of living is very harmful, makes life extremely difficult and can even shorten,” says Johanne.
The sisters are worried about their father. “But also for us,” says Lucie. I feel like the system is not ready to take care of the elderly. And it will be even less so if nothing is done because we are coming, us baby boomers. For me, this is a huge concern…”
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