RPAs denounce measures that are too strict

The “rigidity” of the CISSSs and CIUSSSs is also deplored

Fanny Levesque
The Press

(Quebec) If Quebecers are preparing to say goodbye to “the essentials” of health measures, it is different for seniors in residential settings. Private residences for seniors (RPA) denounce measures that are too strict, the “rigidity” of the CISSSs and CIUSSSs and the devastating effects of confinement on residents who have been vaccinated three times.

The Quebec Regrouping of Residences for Seniors (RQRA) in turn calls for a deconfinement schedule for seniors living in residences. “The condition of the elders is deteriorating, we wouldn’t do that to an animal. We can’t do that to our seniors,” said President and CEO Marc Fortin.

RPA owners across the province have reported to The Press collateral damage of containment on their residents. They also testified to the lack of cooperation from the CISSSs and CIUSSSs and the lack of flexibility in the application of the directives, which, however, vary from one establishment to another.

Two managers, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals, also told us that they had been threatened with losing their certification after requesting accommodations at their establishment. “Sometimes extreme” situations confirmed by the RQRA.

Mr. Fortin does not hesitate to speak of “overcontainment” with the Omicron wave.

The Press reported on Wednesday the conclusions of an American study according to which isolation can have consequences as serious as COVID-19.

The Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, recently met with the leaders of the CISSSs and CIUSSSs to “reiterate the importance of using common sense in the application of measures in living environments for seniors, while ensuring the safety of the people accommodated, ”said his cabinet on Wednesday.

According to the RQRA, the health instructions do not take into account the fact that the majority of residents have received three doses of vaccine. Seniors in private residences, for the most part autonomous, ask nothing better than to learn, too, “to live with the virus”, to use the words of Prime Minister François Legault on Tuesday.

‘Treated like children’

“How is it that we isolate them, that we lock them up as if they were not able to take care of themselves, as if they were unfit people? asks the President and CEO of the IMMO 1 group.^DHugo Boucher.

“We treat them like children, and that, I am tired. This is ageism at its best. [Les autorités] do not understand the reality of RPA. I have people here who are independent like you and me,” continues Mr. Boucher, whose group has ten residences in Montreal and Montérégie, in particular.

He cites the example of a residence where two out of a hundred seniors tested positive for COVID-19. To be considered an “emerging” environment, there must be two or more cases. “And there, we isolate the whole residence […]it can last for weeks,” laments Mr. Boucher.

It is difficult to understand why we do not only isolate positive cases and their contacts, for example.

In the office of the Minister responsible for Seniors, Marguerite Blais, we ensure that we follow “the recommendations of Public Health” for the application of health measures in RPA. “We are empathetic to the situation experienced by seniors in living environments for two years,” it was said.

On Tuesday, the Legault government announced relaxations on the number of visitors authorized in accommodation settings, including CHSLDs and RPAs.

The application of the directives “not uniform”

The RQRA maintains that the issue is not “necessarily how the measures descend from the [ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux] », but how they are carried out by certain CISSSs and CIUSSSs. This affects both the smallest residences and large groups, has been able to observe The Press.

“The application of the guidelines was not uniform and therefore it was very demanding because we had to debate our point to ensure that the guidelines were not more severe than they should be for our residents,” explains Le Groupe Maurice’s Vice-President of Legal Affairs, Isabelle Nantais.

Annie Des Rosiers owns the Grande Côte residence in Saint-Eustache. She formed a bubble from the start of the pandemic with her 21 residents, all of whom suffer from Alzheimer’s. No cases of COVID-19 have been reported so far.

She deplores that RPAs have “lost their right to manage” since the start of the pandemic. “We are not governmental and there are times when, because of the particular situation of my residence, I wanted to apply certain things and I was told: ‘no, you don’t have the right'”, argues Ms.^me Roses.

According to the RQRA, the experiences of RPAs during the health crisis have rekindled the importance of appointing an ombudsman or an independent entity that could analyze complaints from RPAs against CISSSs and CIUSSSs. “We are in situations where we are terrified, where no one dares to speak or complain,” illustrates Mr. Fortin, evoking the fear of then being less well served.

“We need to restore a relational balance with the CISSSs and CIUSSSs. There are some who are extraordinary, but there are a large part of them who do what they want, as they want and ignore the Ministry. They can’t be judges and parties like that, we’re talking about elders. We want an ombudsman who will handle complaints anonymously,” he said.