MONTREAL, April 17, 2020 / CNW Telbec / – People with disabilities and / or seniors in Quebec are completely plunged into distress since their beneficiaries are more and more numerous to go to work at better wages in the public sector.
They must rely on the goodwill of neighbors, of friends who know nothing about the care they must provide to these vulnerable people. These caregivers, who are trying with all their heart to “replace” as best they can the attendants who have left, expose them to extreme dangers.
Meanwhile, Minister of Health and Social Services Danielle McCann claims that all is well with vulnerable people whether they are disabled and / or elderly who receive home care. What misinformation!
exclaims Steven Laperrière, general manager of RAPLIQ.We condemn the words of Minister McCann who puts hundreds, thousands of people living at home at risk having received their care from job-check vouchers (CES)
says Dominique Salgado, CEO of CAPVISH.You say everything is fine, Minister? I invite you to publicly disclose the fewer hours of service performed since the start of the COVID-19 crisis by CES service employees
asks Steven Laperrière, Director General of RAPLIQ.
We (the RAPLIQ, CAPVISH and RIPPH) seriously question the motivation of the MSSS to want to continue wearing pink glasses with regard to disabled people living at home. These people are in danger and we are not exaggerating. Examples :
For those who believe that we can do without these services, let us doubt it and list some of them:
- Change of incontinence briefs. If it is not done, they are insured wounds;
- Emptying the bladder through catheterization, failing which, cystitis, fever or death;
- Installation of compression garments for people with lymphedema. Otherwise, there will be increased edema and if type 3 lymphedema, it is very possible an amputation;
- Rectal touch. If not done, bowel obstruction and several other ailments;
- Changing dressings. If not done, infection, fever and extreme pain;
- Shower or sponge bath, washing the hair, grocery shopping for the vulnerable person, cooking food, transferring them so that they get up / go to bed.
All of the above does not seem to be considered essential services by the health authorities, since the MSSS decided that it was only a “priority 2”. If it was you, Madam, Sir, who required home care, what priority would you assign to it?
It’s a scary return to the invisibility and neglect of the 1960s
deplores Jean-Pierre Robin, President of the RIPPH.Whether you are disabled or elderly, whether in a CHSLD or at home, these services are not only essential, but it is a matter of life and death. If these vulnerable people do not receive them, they will soon die, surely
points out Linda Gauthier, president of RAPLIQ.
It is certainly not funny to stay in a CHSLD, but some people wonder if they would not be better treated if they were in an institution. “The most dramatic thing is like asking them to choose between the guillotine or the gas chamber …”, laments Linda Gauthier, president of the RAPLIQ.
About RAPLIQ, CAPVISH and RIPPH: these three organizations have each worked for the defense and promotion of the rights of people with disabilities for many years. They unite today to demand respect for human rights.
SOURCE RAPLIQ (Grouping of activists for inclusion in Quebec)
For further information: Steven Laperrière, D.G. RAPLIQ, (514) 836-6376; Dominique Salgado, D.G. CAPVISH, (581) 988-7271; Patrick Fougeyrollas, RIPPH Public Relations, 1 418 455 4055