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Home Support is for…

  • Posted on February 3, 2012 at 3:28 pm
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I wonder at times, just who is Home Support services supposed to help?

If the Patient is lucky enough to have an in home caregiver, then I suppose Home Support serves a dual purpose.

It allows for a brief respite for that Caregiver, as well as for the Patient, in providing services like washing, cleaning, etc.

Thing is, what about those who have no regular caregiver, such as a Son or Daughter, who lives there?

Today’s Health Services are greatly stretched, but are we using what resources we have, efficiently?

The longer we have in home support from Beacon Community Services, the more I wonder if perhaps the Government has too quickly abdicated its responsibility, under the guise of saving money.

Can a private organization actually provide better service than a Government run agency?

What about accountability? 

This is the problem today, not just in Home Support, Health Care, but in all aspects of our lives. We have suddenly gone from having a Government that provides services to the Citizens, to one that simply PAY FOR THOSE SERVICES.     Take the Food Industry.  CIFA has no teeth anymore, and as a result we have much more food recalls than when Government OVERSAW the entire Industry.

Is this also not what is happening to our Health Care System?

When was the last time that VIHA officials actually called on some of those patients, to check up on the care they have been receiving from Beacon Community Services?

I have never received a visit, in over 2½ years.  Consider that the taxpayer pays approximately $37 per hour of service.  In two years, Mom has received a minimum of 912 hours of service.  That equals about $33,744.00  in taxpayer money.   Doesn’t it just seem prudent, and proper to check up to insure that all that money was wisely spent?   And if you consider it, the Gross return on that money is 50% to Beacon, based on them only paying about $20 an hour for their employees.

So here is a private NON PROFIT company receiving about $15,000.00 for one old lady’s home support care over the last 2½ years.  Doesn’t it make sense to be checking up on that?

I don’t know, all these so called Conservatives, like Christie Clark, Stephen Harper, talk a good game about fiscal responsibility, and yet they seem unconcerned about the companies they have hired to provide services to us.  They are unconcerned about checking up on them, on insuring that these private firms are actually adhering to their contracts.

I don’t know, but to me that just seems the exact opposite of what a so called Fiscal Conservative should be doing.

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Brothers Keeper

  • Posted on March 27, 2011 at 8:35 am
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This entry is part 4 of 8 in the series Follow The Money

Are We?

To be honest, I think we have moved away from the old time morals and values, where we held the needs of all people, to be important. We used to think that people shouldn’t go hungry, that they needed Medical treatment, irrespective of how much money they earned, had.

There was a time when we actually cared about our neighbours. Hell we knew who they were, we talked with them over the fence, or visited with them.  It isn’t quite that way anymore, least not as much as it once was.

Stephen Harper calls himself a Conservative. Gordon Campbell said he was Liberal Conservative, but those are just words.  Being a conservative, is about fiscal restraint, about protecting people, with a mix of Government & Private Business.  It is about Government protecting people, by insuring certain standards are maintained, kept, and even improved upon.

Things such as health care, as food safety. Those are the roles of Government, and yet Harper & Campbell do neither. They instead push for letting Business set the standards, and for us, to cough up the money for it.

Private Health Care, Private Pensions, are fine, IF you can afford it.  Yet we can’t.  The average person cannot afford the luxury of such things, when there is no protection, no enforcable standards.

I am a Conservative.

Odd I know, but I believe in Government doing its job, which is to provide safeguards, and to make sure all citizens have the same opportunities. I don’t believe in elitism, nor do I believe in Entitlement. I just know, in my heart, that we need to care for all people, and yes, especially those who don’t have wealthy families, or vast incomes. We need to show compassion, not just concern over the bottom line.  I want value for my money, which means I want trained professionals, not just anyone off the streets, to care for the elderly, for the disadvantaged.

And that is why I can never see myself supporting anyone like Stephen Harper & his brand of Conservatism.   It just isn’t right.

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Erosion of Resistence

  • Posted on September 15, 2009 at 7:53 am
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I wonder, if the real goal behind all the red tape, all the delay tactics, by Government, is simply to wear a person down? Do they care, that they endanger people’s health, by their refusal to treat people with dignity? Do they care, that one day, they too will be in their nineties, and possibly in need of help or support?

WE ARE RUNNING OUR HEALTH CARE SYSTEM AS A BUSINESS, INSTEAD OF IT BEING A NECESSARY PART OF LIFE.

Adrian Dix is the health critic for the provincial NDP, and still no reply from him, on the policies his party have, in regards to private contracts, or health care.

Ida Jong, our Liberal MLA, has decided, apparently, that the issue of private contracts has been settled, because Beacon Community Services agreed to provide regular health workers, and so to her, it seems the fire is out.

The Times Colonist has yet to reply, despite already having a reporter looking into the growing issue of complaints about Beacon Community Services, and the VIHA contract to them.

Strange isn’t it, until you realize:

ITS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY, NOT THE PEOPLE.

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They Suffer, Then They Die

  • Posted on August 31, 2009 at 11:34 am
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It is very difficult, to accept, but that appears to be today’s motto for those providing health care to the Elderly.

They Suffer in Silence, Then They Simply Die.

This morning, once again I had to step in, and do what the workers are supposed to do, for Mother. Not only that, but she seemed surprised that I would even dare question her care, which only infuriates me. I LOVE MY MOTHER & NO ONE, IS GOING TO MIS TREAT HER.

It really is that simple.

To begin with, you don’t expect a 92 year old, with a cast, to transfer herself from the bed, to a transport chair. (scaled down wheelchair) You need to help her up, steady her and let her move at her own speed, with you guiding her, keeping her from falling, from taking a mis-step that could lead to another serious fall, with injuries.

When you are supposed to wash a person, it makes much more logical sense to remove the dirty clothing, including any soiled undergarments. You  DO NOT wash her upper body while she is sitting in piss. 

It really is that simple.

WHEN a person is elderly, you DO NOT force their limbs with your own hands, you DO NOT grab them tightly, to shift them, to get their arms upright to clean them. You DO NOT use soap then dry them off, and slap on lotion, as the health care plan requires. ANY of those actions can lead to serious damage, especially when a person has BRITTLE BONES.

It really is that simple.

When the older person is in a cast, you don’t force their clean nightshirt on over their head first, forcing them to use their arms in an upright position, to get the hands through the sleeve openings. The goal is to take the path of least resistance, to gently slide the arms through the sleeve openings, then bring the head opening up and over.

It really is that simple.

You DO NOT CUT the depends, a patient is wearing, to slide them off. The Patient MAY need assistance in standing up, but while it may take more effort, it is simpler, and less dangerous than trying to cut through the material. Last thing you want is to slip and maybe cut the skin. Okay, so YOU may have to bend down and slide the soiled depends (undergarments) off, and YES the smell isn’t pleasant, but then YOU did take on the job, didn’t you?

It really is that simple.

The Elderly DO NOT move at the same speed we do. They shuffle, they have troubles moving, so rushing them, is only going to lead to problems, to complications like falls. IF the time allotted isn’t enough, then YOU need to inform the people in charge, but YOU DO NOT RUSH OLD PEOPLE.

It really is that simple.

Caring for a person who is aged, is not an easy task. With pay starting at over $15 an hour, plus mileage, one would assume that is a decent wage for the task involved. If a person feels it isn’t a good starting wage, THEN DO NOT TAKE ON THE JOB. These are people, not numbers, not some faceless blob. They are ENTITLED to respect, to have their dignity, and not be subjected to rough handling, simply because one is unhappy with the pay being given.

It really is that simple.

Home Support workers are there to do a job, to help where family members may not be able to, such as a male having to clean a female private regions. It is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to inform them of any conditions that exist, so they can take appropriate action.

It really is that simple.

The primary purpose of home support, is to do tasks to aid the senior citizen, and the SECONDARY purpose is to lighten the load of the 24/7 caregiver, which is usually a family member.

That DOES NOT mean you change them into clean clothes, when they have just been changed.

It DOES NOT mean you use 5 wash clothes, or towels, and toss them into the laundry basket, when 2 would suffice.

It DOES NOT mean you leave the garbage stuffed to over flowing, filled with urine & feces soaked under garments.

It DOES NOT mean you ignore cleaning the washroom after use, or FAIL to use appropriate DISINFECTENT. A quick wipe with a cloth IS NOT SUFFICIENT.

It DOES NOT mean you toss the blankets on the unmade bed, and that you determine to move things, to a new place, simply because it is easier for you. IF you see a pillow at the foot of the bed, see that the Patient has her feet resting on it, DO NOT PUT IT UP ON THE PILLOW SHE USES FOR HER HEAD.

It really is that simple. 

AND yet it seems it isn’t that simple. In just nearly SIX WEEKS, those workers supplied by Beacon Community Services seem INCAPABLE of doing just that.

These are supposed to be TRAINED WORKERS, and YET they cannot follow simple procedures. They are unable to read written instructions, but they all know how to use the phone to clock in and out.

THEY SUFFER, THEN THEY DIE

IT REALLY IS THAT SIMPLE

Tell Me Beacon Community Service, Vancouver Island Health Authority, Elected Members of the Legislature, HOW DO YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT?

 

 

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