I am lucky to have a wonderful daughter who, despite her own obligations, decided to host my 98 year old father. He is treated like a king.
Posted at 11:00 a.m.
But suppose the situation were quite different. Suppose my daughter washes him in bed with a washcloth at 5 a.m. Let’s say he can only have a bath or shower every two or three weeks, despite wanting it more frequently. Not being incontinent, he does not need incontinence pants. But his caregiver decides to put one on him anyway, because she doesn’t have time to take him to the bathroom.
His lunch is served to him at 8 a.m. As he is unable to eat on his own, he cannot eat before 9 a.m., because there is no one to help him before then. He would like to sit in the chair, but he is unable to get up on his own.
He will stay in his bed for two days. He will get up at 8 a.m. two days later and go to bed at 6 p.m. His meals are nothing like what he ate when he lived with my mother.
According to Anti-abuse law, my father could file a complaint for this kind of behavior resembling abuse rather than service. Fortunately, this is not the case.
On the other hand, for thousands of seniors housed in CHSLDs, this ordeal has been repeated day after day for many years. It seems that in Quebec, mistreatment is two-tiered. One for the public network, therefore endorsed by past and present governments, and the other for the elder abused by relatives.