Beneficiary attendants at the CHSLD Frederick-George-Heriot in Drummondville, which is struggling with a major outbreak of COVID-19 cases, are sounding the alarm.
They are asking facility managers to take the necessary steps to add enough employees to the floors so that patient care is no longer affected.
“It’s a disaster here!, immediately launched one of the attendants in tears in her car who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. They pretend that everything is fine, but really, it’s not going well. The center is “crashing”! We have a page and a half of baths to cover because at the end of the week, we were just three attendants on the floor.
One of his colleagues, who also wants to remain anonymous, agreed.
“We would be supposed to be, minimum, seven or eight and we are never that. We can tell them, but nothing happens. We are all discouraged. We are all ready to give our card,” she said.
The Red Cross as a backup
Since February 14, 79 residents have contracted COVID-19. Of this number, 14 died. Employees were not spared either, as 50 of them were infected. Sixteen are currently retired from work.
The CIUSSS de la Mauricie-et-du-Centre-du-Québec called on the Red Cross. Since March 4, seven to eight employees have come to lend a hand every day. Among other things, they take care of feeding the residents and doing activities with them to avoid their deconditioning.
The establishment would like them to be at least 13. But according to Mehdi Takka, a nursing assistant who works at the CHSLD, it will take a lot more in the long term.
“We really need a lot of staff. This is a problem that we discussed with the managers and we keep telling them. To solve all the problems, we need more staff.
This lack of personnel also makes caregivers fear the worst.
“Before the outbreak, there was no overstaffing and our loved ones barely got the attention they needed. But there, for our elders, we have to shout it loud and clear: it has to stop!”, he added.
The CIUSSS de la Mauricie-et-du-Centre-du-Québec declined TVA Nouvelles’ request for an interview. By email, the organization said it was sensitive and took all comments very seriously.
Reference-www.journaldemontreal.com