Just a few days ago, the CIUSSS said it was in an overall re-evaluation of the project at the accommodation center. The decision has just been made. “The number of beds available at the CHSLD Bedford meets the needs of the population, to the extent that we continue to develop home support services. So, for these reasons, we will not move forward with the expansion component,” we can read in a letter sent by the CIUSSS to the families of residents, including The Voice of the East got a copy.
Former mayor of Bedford and vice-president of the Lévesque-Craighead Foundation, Yves Lévesque. (Archives La Voix de l’Est)
The CIUSSS de l’Estrie confirmed the news to us on Thursday. A real cold shower for Yves Lévesque, vice-president of the Lévesque-Craighead Foundation, who has been working on the expansion project for more than a decade and who had committed to paying several hundred thousand dollars for its completion. “We are really shaken. It is certain that we cannot accept the situation, deplores the former mayor of Bedford. […] WE were taken on board by the CIUSSS. And we believed them. We can make numbers say whatever we want. But one thing is certain, they are emptying our regions of their services. And that is unacceptable.”
However, almost two years ago to the day, the Minister of Seniors and Caregivers at the time, Marguerite Blais, announced that the project, initially put forward in 2019, would come to fruition. “The expansion and renovation project which is beginning at the Bedford CHSLD has been reviewed and will present significant advantages for residents, their loved ones and the staff who work there. (…) The project in Bedford will be inspired by our philosophy of seniors’ homes, in addition to adding beds and creating larger, functional and welcoming spaces,” indicated the elected representative of the Coalition Avenir Québec. .
The project was to be launched in the spring of 2023. The reception of residents in the new premises, in particular the addition of 13 rooms to the forty existing places, was to take place during the summer of 2024.
Bitter disappointment also on the part of the health committee of the Bedford center. “The CIUSSS lied to the population. We are in shock. […] The regions, we pay for the seniors’ homes that we build in the big cities, proclaimed in an interview the spokesperson for the group, Pierrette Messier, referring in particular to the establishment under construction in Granby. This decision to cut the Bedford CHSLD expansion project is unacceptable.”
The spokesperson for the Bedford cluster health committee, Pierrette Messier. (Archives La Voix de l’Est, Alain Dion)
The mayor of Bedford believes that the dice were loaded in advance. “Everything that is lying around gets dirty,” he imagined. The needs were there a few months ago, but now that is no longer true. It’s still the elderly and our population who suffer in this.”
Painting and murals
Rather than an expansion and additional places at the Bedford CHSLD, we want to cut a dozen beds during the summer period and we will have to settle for minor work, mainly painting and the creation of murals, indicated the deputy general director. for general and specialized physical health programs, Annie Boisvert.
“For the past year, our waiting lists for CHSLDs have been made based on the preferences of users or their loved ones,” said the head of the Haute-Yamaska and La Pommeraie RLS. And when we analyze data for Bedford, we see that the current number of places meets the needs of the population. We even find ourselves with places that are not filled, indicated in an interview […] We want to review the environment so that it is less institutional. More welcoming, warmer. We will also see to improving the functional side of the rooms.”
The deputy general director for general and specialized physical health programs at the CIUSSS, Annie Boisvert. (Archives La Tribune)
How do we explain that the need for places in CHSLDs in Bedford, glaring in 2022, has changed so drastically in such a short time? “Since 2018, we have doubled home care,” said Annie Boisvert. The CHSLD is a last resort.”
“In the last nine months, the picture was stable,” added the director of long-term care accommodation at the CIUSSS, Rosane Rivard. Of the 42 beds at Bedford, we always had one or two vacant beds, and around six patients in transition. These are people who accept being in the CHSLD, but who want to go to another living environment.”
We should start repainting and rearranging certain rooms in the CHSLD in September. “We could start before,” said Ms. Boisvert. With empty rooms, it’s easier.”
During the Legault government’s commitment in 2022 to the overall project at the CHSLD, there was talk of eliminating rooms for two people (a dozen) to allow all residents to benefit from a single room with toilet. This project was also abandoned. “There are as many requests for double rooms as for single rooms,” said Ms. Rivard. For all kinds of reasons. Whether it’s the cost of access to accommodation (lower in a room for two) or having a companion.”
According to the director of long-term care accommodation, a “living environment” committee will be formed at the accommodation center to establish the needs of the clientele for possible improvements.
The Bedford cluster health committee will hold an information meeting as planned on June 17 at 7 p.m. at the Georges Perron community center to take stock of the CHSLD file.
