Editor’s note: This letter follows a Jan. 4 story, “Troubles at Hilltop,” published in The Chief. Three letters to the editor have seen been published in support of the local care home.
My mother lived at Hilltop House for over five years, and recently passed away. Like Janice Hayden, I can’t go back to Hilltop. My mother was one of the residents who suffered from “undiagnosed rashes,” if you can call blisters and beet-red skin from nape of neck to knees a “rash.” My mother developed this rash three times because she wasn’t kept dry, she was dehydrated, she received only one bath a week (until I finally managed to procure a second one) and because she fought off the care aides when her “as needed” medication for chronic pain was not administered, which was often.
My mother also had dementia, and while I do not blame staff for the normal trajectory of the disease, after the rashes, she went from strong and ambulatory to wheelchair-ridden and sling-assisted.
The inconsistent care arose from understaffing. Most of the time, on my mother’s wing, there were two care aides for about twenty-four residents, and one licensed practical nurse, who was responsible for an additional nine residents in the locked unit.
Over the years I wrote several letters to management, but became more vocal after my mother’s palliative care experience. In February, my mother, always a stubborn woman, spent 10 days dying. My sister and I stayed with her 24 hours a day, afraid to leave her side because, unless a registered nurse was assigned her care, we feared staff members were inconsistent with her pain medication. We often had to track them down. Nor did they have swabs for her mouth, a basic necessity for the dying. By way of explanation, we were told that not all staff were trained in palliative care.
Though I feel deeply for the many staff members who loved and cared for my mother, I feel my complaints have brought about changes to palliative care. A few months ago, when my friend’s father was dying at Hilltop, there were mouth swabs. Small victories.
While it’s nice to see letters of support for Hilltop recently in The Chief, defensiveness, denial, and naiveté will not bring about change. We need honest dialogue.
I believe the province must legislate a reasonable, specific, measurable, enforceable staff-to-resident ratio, an approach that is followed in childcare facilities. Our elderly also belong to a vulnerable population and deserve to live out their last years in safety and with dignity.
Jan Redford
Squamish
