To Whom It May Concern....and sure as hell it should concern anyone who is at all concerned about the continuing welfare of the hundreds of helpless Veterans still surviving (but hardly thriving) at Ste. Anne's Hospital, following the April Fool's Day transfer of that once-fine facility to the ministrations of La Belle Province.
Hereunder, you will (I trust) be (dis)pleased to find a verbatim copy of a no-laughing -matter letter recently received from Ms Micheline Beluse, the devoted but disillusioned daughter of a Veteran on my floor, disappointed and despairing of the current care and treatment being tendered to her frail and ailing father.
It is my contention, and that of Micheline and a plentitude of other persons partial to the better interests of our vulnerable (albeit not always venerable) Veterans, that the promised prior level of care is not being accorded to them, in accordance with the underlying terms of the Transfer Agreement, which are being blatantly broken and breached at turn after turn, day after day.
Such palpable violations are manifested and exemplified in the poignant and pathetic letter below, presented as it is, for what it is, and representing but one voice on behalf of just one of the many other Veterans who are subject to similar egregious experiences, which are all too often, for reasons of feared retaliation, not voiced with volition.
It is my fervent plea--and hope-- that the elements so expounded and exposed in Ms Beluse's compelling communication, will be considered and corrected by the Transition Committee, not just as specific situations, but as symptoms of the overall and underlying primary problems permeating Ste. Anne's Hospital as we know it today Those dire and destructive
"TEN PLAGUES" , from which most of the ills besetting the patients infiltrate into their daily life routines, lie embedded within the faults and flaws to be found in the new nature of, and Provincial personnel protocols pertaining to and/or producing, the following :.....
STAFF SELECTION ...STAFF TRAINING...STAFF SHORTAGES...STAFF ROTATION...
STAFF PART-TIME POSTS...STAFF INDIFFERENCE...STAFF INCOMPETENCE...
STAFF PLACEMENTS...STAFF INSECURITY...and STAFF MORALE, AT ITS VERY NADIR.
Now, "cut & paste", or superimpose that plethora of problems upon the proper level of care pledged to our Veterans, and, inevitably, those negatives will produce a picture of pure chaos, consternation, confusion and concern affecting the patients, in place of the constant core of comfort , contentment and confidence which prevailed in the pre-Provincial period.
Unless and until principal personnel policy and procedural changes are promptly and positively designed and implemented by the Transition Committee, fully reinforced by "the full faith and credit" of Veterans Affairs Canada, the disease duo of decline and deterioration will spread and infect the few, final years left to the final, few Veterans still left, b seeking sanctuary and shelter, in the dwindling shadow of Ste. Anne's Hospital, originally intended to serve as their penultimate place of peace and rest, not trauma and turmoil.
Having pronounced my preamble, I will now clear the way for Ms Micheline Beluse to present her compelling case, on behalf of her father and his fellow-Veterans.
NE KAH NE TAH
Wolf Solkin
Ste. Anne's Hospital
-------------
July 13 2016
Hello, Mr. Solkin
This follows the discussion we had last week and I thank you for your help and patience.
On Monday I went to my father's closet to get him a clean shirt and found that the ones we had put in the wash more than 2 weeks ago had not been returned. I then went to the sock and underwear drawer and found that Dad had not been putting his underwear in the wash. I looked at the socks…I had been wondering why he was washing them himself and found that most of the socks I had bought him were gone. I asked Paul the attendant on Dad's floor and Gercia the nurse about this and they both said that the people who pick up the bags for the wash don't sort out what is taken care of at Ste-Anne and the pieces such as facecloths, towels and sheets that are being sent out to an independent facility. The result is that clothes disappear. The independent facility does not return the residents' clothing despite the fact everything is clearly identified with name, floor, Ste-Anne Hospital. I asked what was being done since I don't seem to be the first family member to be confused about this…and they had no idea. All they could tell me is that the staff is constantly reminded not to send out the personal clothing but the constant rotation I now have to go buy Dad new clothes, trust that they will be properly identified and returned…but I have my doubts. My Dad is now paranoid about changing his clothes…
I have noticed that there is a change in the quality of the food that is fed to the residents. I thought it was just me so I asked the other residents if they had noticed anything as well. Yes they had. As an example, I was with Dad at lunchtime and he had a sandwich, fruit, milk and tea. I was sure dinner would be more copious and better balanced. In fact dinner was a very small helping of baked beans, fries, ketchup and a desert. The residents are not complaining and I asked why…the answer was they are afraid of reprisals and the people attending meals can't do anything about replacing a meal that is not satisfactory. I am perplexed. The dietician in charge of our unit is Monica, very devoted and attentive to the residents. She is present at almost every lunch time but appears to be unable to control what comes up from the kitchens… In the past the meals were served at a fixed time…on the dot. Now the meals can be up to an hour late. In the past if a resident was unable to eat the food or found it unpalatable or was dissatisfied, a substitute was provided. This no longer happens. The meal is the meal, like it or leave it. I have asked Dad to keep the meal slips for me so that I can see what he is fed since I am not present at all sittings.
I have to say that the food at the cafeteria is not what it used to be either…but I am not a resident and have a choice to go elsewhere. The Veterans don't.
On the subject: One of Dad's little joys is his daily can of Pepsi. I got a call from Monica last week and she was upset. Apparently the contractor has been changed and only Coke is being served now. Dad got really upset with Monica who can do little about it. She asked me could I please run by the store and bring him some to keep him happy. I did. What I don't understand is that the little snack bar in the atrium doesn't seem to have a problem getting soft drinks but the hospital does.
We now seem to have won the war of toilet paper penury. To palliate I have brought in extras that I put in the night table by Dad's bed. It only took a little over a month to convince the staff in charge of sanitation that a person in a wheelchair and who is on stool softeners cannot access the extra rolls set on top of the paper towel dispenser. A little over a month and a few trips to Walmart. M
The facecloths and towels are not regularly furnished or replaced. The result is that Dad may have to use the same facecloth and towel for several days…they get to have an unpleasant odor.
We now have a problem with the designated 'family room'. When Dad was admitted and the Federal Government was in charge of Ste-Anne the current situation did not exist. As a family member I am restricted to the use of the bathroom in that room. I cannot use the resident's facilities…none of them. Now I find that if I need to go to the bathroom, there is likely a staff member there and I have to wait my turn. The staff also uses the room for naps and snacks. Last week I had to ask permission to go use the staff bathroom as the family room's was occupied but the staff's wasn't. From October to April this did not happen once. With personnel cuts this should not happen. The attendants I know say that either they use the family room facilities or have to wait for the relief person to come and take over while they run to the staff bathroom.
The family room runs out of soap on a regular basis as does the large resident bathroom in the hallway. I spoke to Simon Leblanc about all this. Nothing has changed.
I have asked to meet with Dr. Richer who has now taken over Dad's care. I hope to see her at the upcoming interdisciplinary meeting on the 22nd. That I know of, there have been no full checkups or bloodwork done on Dad since the takeover. He has gained a lot of weigh and I am concerned. The nurses have put notes in his record. He has also complained about dry eyes and now I'm waiting to see if anything is being done about this. Catching up with the nurse on duty is not always easy.
There have been three incidences of nigh orderlies (or nurses, hard to tell) coming into Dad's room around 4 A.M. to take blood pressure. Waking an older gentleman at that hour is bad enough but what puts him in a fury is that these 'équipe volante' persist in putting the sides up on his bed. This happened again last week. Dad was furious and the head nurse on duty had to be called in. Dad considers putting up the sides of his bed unnecessary and entering to his room without prior advice or knocking an invasion of privacy. This is his home and in his home he sleeps in the buff and goes to the bathroom at least twice in the nighthhb…he doesn't want to hit his head on the metal sides either. The relief people do not read the notes. Fortunately they have stopped trying to take his hearing aids away.
I bought batteries for Dad's hearing aids since the nurses' cabinet didn't have more than 2. I was told that all Dad needed to do was go down to the clinic and ask for some. Dad has no idea how to do this and telling him is useless. He has short term memory loss and gets easily disorientated. I will do this for him now. This never happened before the takeover.
In April, Dad's eyeglass frames had to be repaired and the attendant took them to the clinic. The clinic warned that unfortunately the frames were old and couldn't be repaired again: he needed new glasses. On the 19th Nurse Gercia called for an ophthalmology consult. This was refused because Dad had cancelled his appointment in December while under the influence of a powerful drug administered by the hospital. We were told he would only be seen next December. I had to argue and argue and finally got an appointment on the 19th of June and the glasses are being ordered. If the frames had broken my Dad would have been both hard of hearing and unable to get around…he would have been blind as well.
In April, Dad's wheelchair seat was so soiled that it had become malodorous. I asked that it be cleaned and the request was made. And refused. Apparently this is only done once a year and it wasn't his turn. It was the attendant Paul who went downstairs and did the cleaning himself. Two attendants are still here from the old set: Paul and Julie. We are very grateful for this.
In May, one of the other residents got very belligerent and threatened Dad. He was alarmed and so was I. I had seen that man wheel himself into another resident's room and pick a fight. The attending nurse had run down the hallway at the ruckus and hurriedly wheeled the man away to his room. Neither Dad nor I knew whether the man was able to cause damage. Both Adrienne and I talked to the head nurse to express our concerned and the whole matter was pretty much dismissed until we said the next time we would have Dad call the police…this was scoffed at as the police could do nothing. We pointed out that at least there would be a record of the event and if things turned ugly the hospital would be held responsible. The situation has not re-occurred and the resident is now nowhere near my father.
All and all, Mr. Solkin, things are more and more difficult since the takeover. It seems like a whole lot of little problems and some serious ones are forcing me to have boots on the ground and eyes all around which did not happen under the old regime. I had complete confidence in the care and attention to detail. My Dad was safe and well taken care of. If I had a problem, I would speak to the nurse and she would refer me to the proper department…case solved. Now, I never know what next and I find Dad becoming more irascible as obstacles pile up.
Thanks again for your attention and help
Micheline Beluse, Marcel Beluse's daughter
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Regards,
The The Canadian Veterans Advocacy - One Veteran, One Standard Team.
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