Home-care workers cite a litany of systemic failures in letter to Winnipeg widower denied palliative care
A group of Manitoba home-care workers say they are haunted by delays that kept a Winnipeg woman from receiving palliative care services in her home before she died, saying it’s not the first time this has happened.
On Saturday, 62-year-old Katherine Ellis died after opting for at-home palliative care last month following a diagnosis of Stage 4 pancreatic cancer in November.
Her common-law partner, Eric De Schepper, said in the time between Ellis coming home in mid-January and her death, he was left to care for her without the home care that was promised when they left the hospital.
De Schepper received a letter on Thursday penned by a┬аgroup┬аof┬аconcerned┬аhome-care┬аworkers afraid for the future of their profession.
“Thank┬аyou┬аfor┬аgoing┬аpublic,┬аbecause┬аwe┬аcannot,” the letter said.
“Please┬аknow┬аthat┬аyou┬аare┬аnot┬аalone┬аand┬аthat┬аthis┬аis┬аnot┬аan┬аisolated┬аcase.┬аMany┬аof┬аus┬аhave┬аencountered┬аthis┬аsituation┬аand are┬аhaunted┬аby┬аthe┬аfaces┬аof┬аgrieving┬аfamilies┬аwho┬аwere┬аleft┬аwith┬аthe┬аresponsibility┬аof┬аtelling┬аus┬аthey┬аno┬аlonger┬аneed┬аour services.”
De Schepper┬аsaid he filed a complaint with the Manitoba Ombudsman after Ellis’s death, and┬аnamed the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority in the disclosure of wrongdoing form.
He said his partner of a decade was left lying on the same bedsheets for weeks without more than a sponge bath┬аbecause De Schepper couldn’t help her out of bed on his own.
Each time he asked his palliative care co-ordinator for home care, he was told they didn’t have the resources to send workers, De Schepper said.
“This is an outrage. People have to say something about this. If this letter is true, this is unacceptable. This is dehumanizing. This is disrespectful. This is wrongdoing. And that’s another reason why I filed [a complaint],” De Schepper said in an interview on Thursday.
One of the Winnipeg-based home-care workers who wrote the letter said scheduling concerns and labour issues raised by health-care aides and home care workers aren’t being taken seriously, and it’s hurting their patients the most.
The worker, whom CBC isn’t naming as she fears repercussions in her career, says she has a colleague who had a five-hour stretch where she had to sit in her office without any work to do.
“This was during the exact time period where Eric and his wife were going without home care.┬аIt’s almost criminal.”
The health-care aide said when she has a cancellation, she’s often left waiting with nothing to do┬аbecause her schedule isn’t┬аpromptly filled with another home visit.
“There should be no down time,” she said.
CBC News requested a comment from the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority on Thursday night in light of the letter, but didn’t immediately receive a response.
Last week, a spokesperson said efforts are being made to┬аreview schedules to optimize and enhance efficiencies,┬аwhile┬аalso using┬аcontract services and offering additional hours and overtime to help supplement staffing levels as┬аneeded.
The home-care worker added that she’s seen cases where next of kin aren’t notified when their loved ones aren’t getting home care one day.
“It’s a recipe for disaster. They should be phoning the contact or the client, and often they’re doing neither,” she said.
The home-care worker says she and others have tried to affect change to improve working conditions and care for patients, but they’re looked down upon.
“I have almost exhausted every single avenue,┬аand it’s met with dismissal because we are merely health-care aides. They disrespect us, they dismiss our concerns,” she said.
De Schepper says this shouldn’t be happening.
“I find it heartbreaking that these people have to deal with this. It seems to me that┬аit’s disrespectful in so many ways.┬аI have no words to express my my outrage.”
