A long time friend and supporter sent me the following email and gave me permission to publish it without names. (Alex Schadenberg).
--------------------------------------------------
He does not have any cognitive impairment, but he lost his eyesight and the use of left side of body and control over "washroom functions", thus he needs more care than can be provided at home.
He is a very bright man and he had a long career as a university professor in Philosphy and Theology (UK, US and Canada).
Recently the Ontario government implemented new rules for people awaiting LTC in hospital. These rules state that he can no longer wait for his choice of LTC homes to have an opening. Instead, he must accept the first one available and it includes facilites hundreds of kilometers away. He considers this to be like a solitary confiment sentence! IF you dont accept the first opening, the Ontario government has implemented a fee of $400 a night for him to continue waiting in hospital.
It is important to him that he remains in close proximity to his family (including great grand babies) and his wife who lives in a local LTC home near his Church/congregation/community.
He does not have and does not believe he should have to pay for the care required and finds it insulting and a measure of his worth to the powers that be.
Last weekend, as a result of this situation, he made his wishes known for MAID. He told my client, his son, that the options in front of him are $400 a night (unaffordable) or a "living death" by being taken far from his family and home.
I can't help but think that Premier Ford and Prime Minister Trudeau, et al know that this is a reality for the elderly, the impoverished and the under serviced.
Sadly it feels's like MAID is their fiscally based solution vs spending money to fix the problems in our social service and healthcare provisions. Economics certainly dictate politics and policy and the result is cheaper than the fix.
We live in precarious, vulgar, unimaginably inhumane and repugnant times.
Thanks for reading this far...I needed to vent.
3 comments:
I couldn't agree more with this concern. I have experience with both my parents in assisted living and long-term care (and both had dementia) and frankly, these institutions are getting worse and worse. Some of this has to do with the level of care as qualified people are less willing to work in such places. This is mostly due to the work situations they end up in and the amount of money they are paid. Their work is not valued - because the elderly are not valued. We have a very broken system and Ontario Premier Ford has made it worse. Other developed countries do a far better job than we do. They have their priorities right and have invested in extensive community care. This enables people to stay in their homes much longer. Don't force the elderly, etc. to choose death over life because of this situation. It will happen more and more frequently if we don't do a lot better in elder care.
This is coercive and inhumane...
We know that a depopulation ideology is thriving in Canada, but now we see the inhumanity and depth of hatred is heartless in targeting the most vulnerable.
When will this attack on the elderly STOP.
How disgraceful ...where are the voices of the Conservatives on this?
Why are the spiritual Leaders once more SILENT in the face of cruelty??
Why are the unions not speaking up to protect their retirees?
This is so unbelievably sad. I hope it's not too late for this man to reconsider and I hope his family, friends, congregation and community support him to find alternative solutions. We have to step in and take on this care. We have to take it back from the governments, who are treating humans as commodities and deciding for them what's best for them.
Post a Comment