West Island man says home care cuts are causing burnout

At 68, Myles Charon never expected he would be a full-time caregiver. Until a few years ago, his 92-year-old mother lived on her own, but then she ended up in the hospital.

"And after a month, the hospital discharged her, but with the instruction, she can't return home or live alone,' he said.

So he and his wife made space in their home. Charon was connected to the local CLSC and a social worker to help him equip the room with a hospital bed, commode and other accessories.

He said the government funded four visits a day for his mother so she could be washed and changed.

But Charon said in the last few weeks, the amount of visits and their duration has changed. He believes it's because the CLSC in Pierrefonds no longer uses private agencies, and they don't have enough staff to meet the needs.

"Every day is like roll the dice, I call it PAB roulette," he said, adding that there is an inconsistency in the care of his mother.

The West Island Health Authority said it could not comment on specific cases but told CTV News that it prioritizes using internal healthcare teams rather than private agencies.

As part of a provincial directive, the use of independent labour (MOI) will be phased out by March 2025.

Annie Carrier, who teaches at the Universite de Sherbrooke and researches home care, said it's a ticking time bomb.

"What we're seeing is the ageing of the population. There's more people that need services," she said.

Carrier added that the problem is not new, and governments have underfunded home care for decades. While the health sector is dealing with labour shortages, she says the problem is with the centralization of services.

She said Health Minister Christian Dubé has indicated he wants to prioritize home care, but with the creation of agencies like Sante Quebec, it's not clear how that will look.

In the meantime, caregivers like Charon will have to pick up the slack.

He said he's trying to plan a vacation, but the expense of hiring full-time health care for his mother for several weeks is too high.

He's also been told that he will have to cover the entire care for his mother this Thanksgiving due to staffing shortages.

"I still need help. If they keep cutting my services because they think I'm capable, I'll just simply burnout."