(Quebec) One in two private CHSLDs under agreement deplores not having “all the necessary support” from the CIUSSS and CISSS to face the Omicron tsunami. In addition, a third of establishments fear that they will be out of service within the next few weeks, which would imply that only basic care would be provided to residents.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
These are the findings revealed by the Association of Private Establishments Agreement (AEPC), which surveyed its 59 establishments from January 5 to 6. “For the moment, the situation is under control, but it is certain that it remains fragile, even very fragile”, indicates the Director General of the AEPC, Annick Lavoie.
Private contracted CHSLDs are feeling the hints of the first wave, while half of them believe that they cannot count on the support of their regional health establishment. Among other things, we note the “difficulty of ordering N95 masks” and the inability to deploy health workers as reinforcements.
What has not changed is the lack of collaboration with certain CISSS and CIUSSS. I have the impression that they are in competition mode with the private approved establishments [EPC] while we should be in collaboration mode.
Annick Lavoie, Director General of AEPC
Annick Lavoie affirmed last November that the contracted private CHSLDs had been left behind during the pandemic during her visit to coroner Géhane Kamel, who is investigating the deaths of seniors that occurred in residential settings in the spring of 2020.
Lack of support
According to the AEPC probe consulted by Press, 38% of EPCs say they receive support from the CISSS and CIUSSS, while 49% believe no; 13% refused to answer.
“If we need personal protective equipment (PPE), well they’ll put us in second or they’ll give us a little less than we ordered. If we need staff because we’re out of business […], they are not necessarily going to send us any, they will say that they do not have any, ”illustrates the general manager.
Note that 92% of EPCs nevertheless declared that they had “sufficient PPE”.
It is the responsibility of the public network to supply approved private establishments with PPE.
Lack of collaboration is also reflected in screening for COVID-19, explains Mme The way. According to the survey, the average wait time for a healthcare worker EPC result is 24 to 72 hours, but can “go up to five days” since 1er January.
“It’s long, it’s way too long,” she argues.
More fax machines
Almost half (47.4%) of the results of the screening tests are sent through the Quebec Health Record, while 32% are still sent by fax, which can “generate a waste of time for staff and help to lengthen the deadline for the transmission and communication of results, ”one writes. “We still have results coming to us by fax. It is regrettable ”, launches Mme The way.
“We are part of the network [de la santé] and, normally, we should have access as quickly as their own employees, ”she points out. Some EPCs therefore have recourse to private laboratories to speed up the pace. CHSLDs consider these delays as an “aggravating factor” of the labor shortage.
A third of the EPCs (33%) fear that they will be cut off from services in the coming weeks due to lack of personnel. “It means that we are going to focus only on hygiene and basic care […], so wash the residents, feed them and hydrate them ”, summarizes Mme The way.
It is absolutely necessary to improve the speed of screening, to harmonize the means of communication of results and to offer better access to the volunteers of the “I contribute” platform, believes the Association.
“Variable” collaboration
According to PEAC, the level of collaboration offered by health establishments is “variable” from one region to another.
This observation occurs “despite the government’s reiterated desire” to establish better collaboration with the EPCs to counter the fifth wave, writes PEAC in its compilation of the survey results.
For its part, the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) ensures that weekly meetings are held with the PEAC to “know the issues encountered in the application of directives and intervene if necessary”.
“At any time, when issues are encountered, private partners can contact the MSSS for immediate intervention with an establishment,” writes the Ministry in an email.
The MSSS also recalls that in the current context, “it is more difficult to have staff in several sectors of activity and that health establishments must also juggle the issue of human resources. ”
About 1,100 EPC workers are currently bypassed because they have COVID-19 or because they are waiting for a result out of a total of some 12,500 employees.
As Omicron is extremely contagious, there are a lot of employees who are withdrawn and that hurts.
Annick Lavoie, Director General of AEPC
Unlike the start of the pandemic, residents who contract the virus are much less sick. An effect attributable to vaccination, according to PEAC. Also according to the same survey, 94.7% of residents with COVID-19 did not show “serious symptoms” of the disease.
Private contracted CHSLDs are run by owner-managers, but they hold a permit and are subsidized by the MSSS.
7000
Number of accommodation beds for members of the Association of private establishments under agreement. This is about 20% of the accommodation offer in Quebec.
Source: Association of private contracted establishments