Dear Editor,
Something has happened that makes me want to emphasize what we are losing with the health care being destroyed.
I went in to visit the nursing home to find Brian’s wheelchair with the footrests put on. We have not used them because when he gets pushed he lifts his feet. This exercises the leg muscles and the torso muscles. Apparently, someone with more ego than experience from the Ministry of Long-Term Care has decided it is dangerous to not have the foot supports when transporting the patients. Someone somewhere hit a bump and the patient fell out of the chair. The only way to do that is to be pushing the chair much too fast when they hit a bump. The problem was the pusher not the bump. In the nursing home, there are no bumps. The floors are perfectly smooth. However, with the footrests on, the feet stick out too far so the feet do not fit under the table without hitting the other residents sharing the table. His feet stick out to hit other patients walking around the corners. With dementia they tend to want to stand and with the rests on, his feet get entangled and it is a short-cut to a face plant.
This is not the fault of the home but the ministry. It makes no sense to the nurses either, but they have to follow the rules.
The point is that health care has been usurped by office workers instead of dedicated nurses and doctors. It is time for the voters to get off the couch and find out what all the parties are going to do about it. The nurses are helpless to change such nonsense. It is a simple thing but when your readers need the health care we used to take for granted, it will not be there. Our loved ones are human beings, not just file numbers. We are running out of time and our children will pay the price.
Sincerely,
Roberta Docherty, Meaford
