A Winnipeg woman is raising alarm bells about the quality of home care service in the city.
Jeannette Wheeler — whose mother is in a wheelchair and needs help with her medications, getting dressed, going to the bathroom, and bathing — says home care has been less than reliable, with many missed visits and other problems with the service.
Wheeler said she’s documented more than 40 delays or cancelled services since the beginning of the year.
“They don’t let the family know that they’re not coming, which causes a real problem,” she told 680 CJOB’s The Start.
“(There are) people showing up that don’t have badges and want to be entered into the building — calling my mom to go let them in, when in her wheelchair, she can’t get there.
“It’s very confusing and frustrating for her and for the family.”
The biggest disappointment, she said, is that opting for home care was intended to allow her mom to receive care where she is as she ages, rather than having to move to a personal care home.
The service is great when the workers show up, she said, but she’s no longer confident the system is working.
“We want to ensure accountability when visits are missed or delayed, especially when it’s — in some cases — the same person that continue to miss work.
“Increasing staff levels to prevent dangerous gaps in service, and to provide transparency on how the province plans to address the crisis… because this is a crisis right now.”
Kurtis Kosack, whose 86-year-old father receives home care, told 680 CJOB’s Connecting Winnipeg he’s had some similar experiences.
“If (the nurse is) 15 minutes late or so, not a big deal. Stuff happens,” he said.
“But a lot of the time, like today, they didn’t even show up and I never got a phone call.
“My dad likes consistency, with dementia. When it all of a sudden gets disrupted, it blows up on me.”
Kosack said he moved back home to support his father, especially in the evenings, but the home care service is something the family counts on daily. While he’s understanding when home care workers give him a heads-up that they’ll be late, or if something needs to be rescheduled, he said the unexpected no-shows throw a wrench into everyone’s day.
“It takes a toll on yourself, because if they’re not here, like today, I worry about him in the shower, changing his clothes, everything else.
“He did everything for me, and my mom told me before she passed, ‘Look after your dad — he helped you, now it’s your turn.’”
Global Winnipeg has reached out to the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and Shared Health for comment and data on home care cancellations and delays.
