Short-staffing hurts home-care patients

I am an ill senior who is unfortunately totally dependent upon the services I get from a home-care agency that answers to the Erie St. Clair Local Health Integration Network.

The work of our fine personal support workers (PSWs) is thankless and challenging, with much energy required for them to remain successful and earn the respect of their patients. My experience has been the ultimate in the care afforded to me. This is the exact area, though, where dysfunction runs rampant. Missed visits have become the norm. These are the bread and butter in the system, the very foundation that allows for the entire team structure to remain solid and firm. This area is currently in some state of flux, crumbling. This is not the fault of the PSWs. Their efficiency depends on the administrators.

Just how long does it take for management to realize their direction is lacking, much to the chagrin of their staff and even more to the patients for whom they are responsible?

I am alone and it’s nearly impossible for me to summon other assistance. PSWs have rights like everyone else to vacation, bereavement leave and sick time. Management is responsible for scheduling so that patients do not bear the brunt for the miseries of staff. Each scheduler works in tandem with a nurse. I knew that my PSW would be on vacation two weeks in advance. The staff was scrambling to find a substitute the day I wrote this letter. They came up empty. This left me without the meal and water I needed to drink with my medications. I have other needs that I choose to keep private.

It’s way past time for some people to step up to the plate and do the jobs for which they eagerly collect earnings. Margaret Gobatto, Windsor