Martine Simard no longer knows where to turn for answers regarding the mistreatment suffered by her 86-year-old mother, Gemma Dufour. The former resident of the CHSLD de La Prairie, who died last December, was allegedly physically attacked by a beneficiary attendant a few weeks earlier, but the management of the establishment never saw fit to warn her daughter Martine, who However, he used to visit his mother several times a week.
In an email sent on September 19 to Philippe Gribeauval, CEO of the CISSS de la Montérégie-Ouest, Martine Simard expressed her concern about the allegations of mistreatment towards her mother. Gemma Dufour, who had suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for 15 years, weighed barely 100 pounds and had been in a wheelchair for two years.
“I learned last August that an employee had allegedly seen a PAB physically mistreat my mother. I also learned that a firm was investigating and it was confirmed to me that an employee had been suspended regarding this assault and that a police investigation was underway. Why was I never informed?” protests Mme Simard, who believes he has the right to know what happened.
“I don’t understand why I wasn’t informed of this situation. I spoke to the manager, his superior, the complaints commissioner, the police, and I got very few answers.”
And with each of his requests for information, Mme Simard notes that managers are more concerned with finding the employee who informed her than finding the culprit of the alleged actions.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MARTINE SIMARD
Several witnesses
On October 10, 2023, Nathalie*, a unit attendant (PAU) who distributes clothes to residents, stops her cart in front of Gemma Dufour’s room 428. She sees Robert*, a burly beneficiary attendant who is over six feet tall, land a violent punch on the shoulder of the elderly resident. Two days later, still upset by the act of mistreatment she witnessed, Nathalie alerted her manager, who asked her if she had spoken about it to other employees. The manager tells him that from now on, the file is confidential. No incident report is completed at this time. It was not until last June that there was an official complaint to the police.
In another deposition, another employee, Nancy Dubreuil, claims to have also witnessed acts of mistreatment towards several residents on the part of the same attendant.
“He hit a resident vigorously on the head, saying to him: Are you okay, Gilles? Answer Gilles, she explains. The resident in question was however non-verbal! Also, I saw him forcefully unfold the arms of another resident who had a stiff body and who was folded in on himself. This caused pain to the resident who cried out in pain. This all happened on a daily basis. I didn’t know who to talk to about it. I didn’t have anyone I trusted. I was afraid of him. »
Exhausted, Nancy resigns. She now works in a palliative care home “which respects its residents and where I see many beautiful things despite the end of life.”
Suspended without pay
The manager of the day center, Mélanie Rocco, in turn filed a complaint with the police last June. She then testifies to an unhealthy work climate at the CHSLD of La Prairie, where acts of neglect and mistreatment are tolerated. According to her, it happens in particular that residents do not receive their medications due to lack of staff. They would often remain in the soiled diaper, in their excrement.
Employees decide to come together to denounce the establishment’s inaction, which would jeopardize the safety of residents. They wrote to ministers Christian Dubé and Sonia Bélanger, asking them to intervene. Last Thursday, Mme Rocco, spokesperson for the group, learned that she was suspended for two weeks without pay. The employees can’t believe it.
“It’s the straw that broke the camel’s back. How is it possible to punish people who report abuse? The attendant who hit Gemma Dufour and mistreated two other residents only had a three-week suspension, and with pay, and he was relocated to an even more vulnerable clientele.”
“It is obligatory to report mistreatment, under penalty of a fine, but when we do so, we become a target with senior management,” states the group of CHSLD La Prairie attendants in an email sent on June 28 to office of Minister Sonia Bélanger.
“Our employees have an obligation to denounce. The fact that one of our employees is suspended without pay for having denounced, it is certain that it contributes to silence in the health network,” explains Joëlle Lavoie-Vigeant, national representative of the Professional Personnel Alliance and health and social services technology (APTS) in Montérégie in interview.
Bruises
In recent years, Martine Simard had noticed bruises on her mother’s body.
“I took photos and reported these marks to the nurses several times. Today, I want to know if this was documented in his medical file,” she insists with determination. Until now, he has been denied access to his mother’s file.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MARTINE SIMARD
“My mother Gemma hasn’t spoken for seven years. How can you attack such a vulnerable person? asks Martine Simard, her voice trembling.
“The attacker is still in the system and he will perhaps attack others. It’s terrible,” confides M with emotionme Simard in an exclusive interview with Isabelle Maréchal.
Present alongside her mother throughout her stay at the CHSLD, she was involved as a caregiver, ensuring that the gaps in the care provided by often overwhelmed staff were filled. Today, she does not intend to remain silent.
“I want to know the truth. This is unacceptable. No one should die like this, in the shadow of violence,” she says.
The La Prairie CHSLD has already been singled out for failings in care in recent years. In an evaluation report during visits in January 2019, it is recommended that the establishment make several adjustments, particularly with regard to the handling of complaints, communication with relatives, and services to residents.
*Some names have been changed
– In collaboration with Florence Lamoureux
