I am writing to respond to Randy Walter’s letter about Hilltop House in The Chief on Thursday, Feb. 8th. I believe he is saying the same thing that others are saying: the system has failed our seniors in long-term care. Yes, most of the staff do the best they can, but there are not enough hours of care per resident to provide even basic care.
Family members of residents, myself included, provided many examples of inadequate care in the Jan. 6th article (Troubles Reported at Hilltop)
When my father was at Hilltop, I saw care aides trying to feed six people at a time; most family members feel compelled to go up at meal times to help. I saw care aides working long shifts of overtime and I saw signs of the resulting burnout.
As a family member, there is little you can do other than go through numerous meetings with management, and when you are unable to get results, write a letter to Patient Care Quality Review.
In our experience, this still does not remedy the situation. If the staff is feeling depressed about the recent articles, as Randy has mentioned, they must be aware of the chronic understaffing that we are trying to speak up about?
If we cannot discuss this situation in the media, how is change going to happen at a government level? We need to increase funding for long-term care facilities and hire enough staff to provide not only basic care but a good quality of life for our seniors. And we should not forget that this could be the future of every one of us.
Vicki Marlatt
Squamish
