We can no longer turn a blind eye to the mistreatment of seniors
This week the FIQ and FIQP submitted a statement as part of the consultation on the governmental action plan to counter the mistreatment of older adults. It expresses the point of view of healthcare professionals and their solutions. While COVID-19 caused a brutal collective shock over the mistreatment of seniors, it is important to recognize that this disastrous situation stems from the political, budgetary and management decisions made long before the current crisis.
In the statement, the Federations make the following recommendations:
- To encourage and facilitate denunciation without fear of reprisals for healthcare professionals
- To abolish the contingency and care prioritization plans ratified by nursing administrations
- To put an end to the commodification of seniors’ care
- To review the Act to combat maltreatment of seniors and other persons of full age in vulnerable situations
- To adopt efficient monitoring mechanisms and better recognition of accountability
- To implement safe ratios for direct care and guarantee stable, fully-staffed teams for all living and care environments, thus remedying the lack of care for seniors
- To ensure a sufficient number of nurses specialized in infection prevention and control (IPAC)
- To improve the home care service offer
- To use an intersectional gender-based analysis (GBA+) to address mistreatment