EDMONTON – A Strathcona County woman is speaking out, saying the quality of her home care has gone downhill since the province amalgamated the service over the summer.
“It’s so frustrating because I never know if a girl is showing up, or if I get help, or who is coming,” said Roberta Ranger.
The senior says she relies on her home care provider to help her with her daily tasks. Roberta has heavy scar tissue on her stomach, stemming from a string of operations she had in 2007. She says hot baths are the only reprieve from the pain the scar tissue causes.
“I have trouble with my legs now and I can’t get in and out of the tub by myself and I need a bath everyday. It helps ease the pain for where I have the scar tissue,” she explained.
But Roberta says she hasn’t had a bath in over two weeks, because she says her home care provider stopped showing up at the beginning of November. She says her service has been inconsistent since late-July, when ‘We Care’ took over her services.
“So many different girls have been coming (or) nobody’s coming,” she explained.
Roberta’s husband, Hubert, has bone cancer and isn’t able to help his wife.
“I can do nothing about it. I feel helpless. And so if those problems coming in, there’s more stress and Roberta gets more and more pain.”
On June 1, changes came into effect that reduced the number of home care service providers in Alberta from 42 to 13. Alberta Health Services (AHS) said it was in an effort to streamline the system.
However, after hearing concerns from clients and service providers, Health Minister Fred Horne ordered a review of the changes. Just over one month later, the decision to amalgamate home care was partially reversed and a number of home care providers were offered new contracts.
READ MORE: AHS restoring some home care contracts in Edmonton
The Rangers say they’ve contacted AHS and the Health Minister with their concerns over the past few months, but nothing has changed.
“I would acknowledge that there were challenges during the transition from one provider to another,” explained Brenda Huband, Interim President and CEO of Clinical Operations with AHS. “However, we’ve worked really hard to meet these challenges and are confident the home care system in Edmonton and area has improved significantly compared to the days following the transition.”
When it comes to the Rangers, Huband says AHS has been attempting to work with them for several weeks. However, she adds there are “extenuating circumstances” in the case she cannot discuss.
“What I can tell you is that this is not a case of inadvertently missed visits,” Huband explained over the phone Saturday afternoon.
We Care would not comment directly on the Ranger’s case, but Dr. Kimberly Fraser, Director of Clinical Practice with We Care says the care provider “works closely with AHS and its clients to ensure all clients get the care that they need. We are fully committed to providing high quality care in all cases.”
Roberta says all she wants is for the quality of her care to improve.
“All I need is somebody to come in and do their job with me.”
A meeting between an AHS case manager, We Care and the Rangers has been scheduled for early next week.
“We hope to be able to find a solution that works for the client and the care provider,” Huband said.
With files from Shannon Greer, Global News.
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