A Laval resident brought her father home at the end of his life for his palliative care, she was so exasperated to see him being served “disgusting” meals at the Cité-de-la-Santé in Laval.
“He literally couldn’t eat. It was appalling to see someone who was [au départ] supposed to get better at being served food like that,” says Natasha Gagliano.
His father, Angelo Gagliano, was hospitalized for more than a month until last Friday at the Cité-de-la-Santé in Laval for lung problems. Recently, he learned that he had less than two months to live due to fluid leaking into his lungs.
If Mr. Gagliano is satisfied with the care he received, it is quite the opposite for the meals. Allergic to onions and suffering from diabetes, the 70-year-old says there were only the same four options on his menu.
A great sadness
“It repeats itself, you look at it, and you feel like throwing up. It’s the most disgusting thing to be served the same thing over and over again, says Mr. Gagliano, bursting into tears on the phone. I worked for 60 years paying taxes to contribute to the health system,” he laments.
Not only was the menu not extensive, but the plates themselves were unappetizing, as evidenced by photos taken by his daughter Natasha Gagliano.
Courtesy picture
A plate of ham, rice and carrots served to him at the Cité-de-la-Santé.
A slice of ham under small carrots and a ball of rice, or even white pasta served on a sauce resembling tomato juice; Here are some examples of meals that will probably not make our readers jealous.
Courtesy picture
Another meal, this time consisting of pasta on a liquid sauce background.
“We were able to prepare and bring him our food, but a few weeks ago, a nurse told us that we could no longer do it because of COVID,” also laments his daughter.
” It breaks my heart “
Exasperated to see her father live his last days being treated in this way, she preferred to take him out of the hospital so that he received palliative care at home.
“It breaks my heart when I see that people are caught eating this,” says Hugo Paquette of the CISSS de Laval-CSN workers union. Everybody [à cet hôpital] receives a meal that looks like this. It’s been at least five years that we ask to change the menus and make them more varied. »
Called to react, the CISSS de Laval pleaded in particular that Mr. Gagliano follows a “very limiting” therapeutic diet for meal options.
“The photos “do not at all represent the quality of the meals that we want for all patients in Quebec”, reacted the office of the Minister of Health.
“We will do the necessary checks with the CISSS to understand what happened in this case,” we added.