Quebec to launch fast-track program to train 1,000 home care workers
Quebec is launching another fast-track training program, hoping to train 1,000 new home-care workers by this fall -- but some are concerned that cutting corners will affect the quality of care.
The program aims to help boost home-care services in Quebec as the population ages.
People who want to become home-care workers can enrol in an accelerated training program paid for by the government.
"We are putting a lot of money. That's $12,000 per person for five months," said Health Minister Christian Dube.
It's similar to another program Quebec rolled out in 2020, fast-tracking the training of 10,000 orderlies to help during the pandemic.
The new home-care workers would only receive 705 hours of training instead of the usual 870 hours.
CSN union president Caroline Senneville said there's concern workers who lack enough training could face difficulties in patients' homes.
"They could be aggressive because of mental health problems or because they have Alzheimer's or things like that, even in the early stages," she said.
Opposition parties all agree attracting more people to work in home care is urgent.
"The huge challenge of the aging population in Quebec needs a lot of measures," said Quebec Solidaire co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois. "It's going to be a big challenge for us as a society."
Interim Liberal leader Marc Tanguay said it won't solve the underlying problem.
"So far, with respect to those types of programs, we haven't seen any tangible results in order to address the labour shortage and the crisis," he said.
Dube disagreed.
"We've seen it has been very positive with the PAB [orderlies] when we train 10,000 people, we still have 7,500 of them that are still in the system," he said.
Properly training workers is a big part of retaining them, said Senneville.
"We have to tackle this not only as a short-term solution, but also mid-term and long-term solution," she said.
The CSN said it would like the government to commit to ongoing training for these new hires so they can eventually complete the total number of training hours and hopefully stick with the profession.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Ottawa pizzeria places among top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world at international competition
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
Wildfire near Fort McMurray more than triples overnight, several evacuation alerts remain in place
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Putin replaces Russian defence minister in rare cabinet shakeup
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Man fatally 'slashed in the neck' in downtown Toronto, suspect outstanding
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
WATCH Dashcam video shows terrifying near-miss on two-lane northern Ontario highway
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Edibles, armchairs and adapters: Here are the recalls for this week
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.