EDMONTON – An elderly Edmonton woman is speaking out about the impact she believes recent home care changes are having on her quality of life.
The 87-year-old senior, who only wants to be identified as Hilde, has severe advanced arthritis throughout her body. Since she has adverse side effects to pain medication, hot baths are her only reprieve.
Hilde can get into the tub on her own, she needs help getting out. That’s where her caregiver would normally come in. But Hilde says the home care she receives, through an AHS-contracted provider called Revera, only covers four hours per week.
She claims the service has also been less than reliable as of late.
“They don’t keep the time, they send new people – sometimes they don’t even phone you when they don’t send anybody.”
Hilde’s daughter has tried to help as much as she can, but she can’t do it on her own.
Seeking a more permanent solution, Hilde says she qualified for “self managed care” in June. The model provides patients with more choice as to who cares for them. Under it, Hilde would be eligible for four hours of care a day. The only problem: she’s been on a wait list for two and a half months. And she’s getting to the point of giving up on waiting.
“I don’t care if I lay on the floor, and lock my doors and nobody comes. It can’t be any worse. At least you go off in the hereafter and it’s still peaceful compared to this. I can’t handle the stress.”
Hilde’s case is not the only one of its kind, according to health advocate Sandra Azocar, with Friends of Medicare.
Since AHS cut back on the number of home care agencies earlier this year, Friends of Medicare says it has received about three or four complaints each week regarding home care.
“I think it was the worst thought out transition ever. When people’s lives and care are being impacted, you need to have some thought behind any kind of change,” says Azocar.
“They haven’t done anything to improve the quality of services,” she adds. “All they’ve done basically is allegedly – saved money on the backs of workers and clients.”
In a statement, AHS spokesperson Kerry Williamson writes:
He adds that AHS will look into patient concerns about any AHS contracted health care provider.
Revera, meanwhile, says it is unable to comment on Hilde’s case specifically due to privacy issues. However, a spokesperson writes, “we do sincerely apologize for any issues or concerns this individual may have experienced…We are working very closely with Alberta Health Services to ensure that our clients receive the quality care they deserve.”
With files from Laurel Clark, Global News
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