People with disabilities, who are unable to use rapid tests on their own at home when they have symptoms of COVID-19, would like to be added by the Government of Quebec to the list of priority people to have access to PCR tests.
Even as Quebec restricted access to screening centers in early January, which were under pressure because of the Omicron variant, Lucie Giroux, who lost her sight a few years ago, began to feel ill. She had some quick tests, thanks to a neighbor, but she was not able to use them on her own and see the result.
“I see absolutely nothing,” explains the Montrealer to the Duty. I had to ask my neighbor, who can see better than me, to dress up as an astronaut to come to my house and give me a quick test. With the result being positive, she remained isolated with her 76-year-old mother, who also has great difficulty using a test on her own.
“I put people in danger, adds Lucie Giroux. To take a PCR test, I need someone to take me, but at least there we have professional help. I need the eyes of others, I need professional help”, she underlines.
I had to ask my neighbor, who can see better than me, to dress up as an astronaut to come to my house and give me a quick test
Patrick Desjardins faces the same problem. The 45-year-old man, who resides in Montreal, is paralyzed. “I can’t use a rapid test,” says the president of Ex æquo, an organization that defends the rights of people with motor disabilities. It’s really a problem for us. »
An attendant comes regularly to give him a hand, but he is worried about the risk of contaminating her. “It’s not ideal,” he says. A risk amplified by the fact that the son of the man, who recently separated from his wife, will start attending school in person again and could catch COVID-19.
55 organizations sign a letter
“It’s a major problem,” says Antoine Perreault, director general of the Regroupement des bliss et amblyopes du Québec (RAAQ). In Quebec, more than 200,000 people have a vision problem, according to figures from the Office of the Handicapped Persons of Quebec dating from 2017. More than one million people aged 15 and over in the province have at least one incapacity, it is also specified.
At the initiative of the group, 55 community organizations signed a letter, which The duty obtained and published on its website, to demand that people with disabilities be added to the list of groups entitled to PCR tests. “It is a question of security and equality, write the signatories. We do not question the importance of prioritizing testing. But it is inconceivable that people with disabilities are not entitled to PCR tests. »
Several groups are affected, explains Antoine Perreault. “It’s not available [les tests rapides] for a person with fine motor difficulties, he points out. I was talking to people who represent people with intellectual disabilities, and understanding how it works and doing it is really complicated. »
Added to this is the fact that many people receive help at home from employees of the health and social services network, but also from caregivers, neighbors or volunteers. “These are not people who are necessarily trained for COVID-19, or who have the right to have a PCR test,” he said. If the person has symptoms, they need to know quickly if they have COVID-19 and if the person is comfortable coming to help them at home. »
The list of priority people was expanded on Friday, reports Antoine Perreault, but it still does not include people with disabilities. “It’s good that some people related to people with disabilities can now get tested,” he said, however.
The RAAQ has been talking regularly with representatives of the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) since the start of the pandemic to ensure that there are accommodations for people with disabilities. “It’s problem after problem after problem. The online platform for making an appointment for a vaccine is not accessible [pour les personnes en situation d’handicap », déplore-t-il.
Le directeur général compte continuer d’interpeller le ministère pour élargir l’accès aux tests. « Nous espérons que le MSSS prendra conscience de l’importance de tenir compte des problèmes qui touchent les personnes handicapées », dit-il.