PAYING FOR SHOWERS

There is something terribly wrong with our health-care system when a disabled man feels he needs to resort to crowdfunding if he wants more than one shower a week. François Marcotte, who has multiple sclerosis with limited mobility, has turned to the website GoFundMe to raise money so he can pay someone to give him two extra showers a week at the Quebec City nursing home where he receives just one.

His plight has made headlines and sparked debate in the National Assembly. Health Minister Gaétan Barrette described Marcotte’s predicament as “unjustifiable,” and rightly so.

However, the minister’s response is unsatisfactory. Barrette said he has called on the local health authority to attend to Marcotte’s needs. But what about the needs of others in similar straits?

It is alarming that people are turning to crowdfunding to meet basic necessities that should be covered by tax dollars. One risk, experts say, is that while online initiatives can benefit the web-savvy, they leave out others.

For example, Marcotte, at 43, is by far the youngest resident at his long-term-care home, and he seems to have succeeded in tapping into the sympathy of benevolent strangers. He has surpassed his goal of $5,200, and now hopes to raise enough for an adapted vehicle to accommodate his wheelchair.

Others are not so lucky, and have resorted to paying orderlies out of pocket $20 to $40 for extra baths or showers outside of work hours. Last year, Barrette ordered health agencies to put a stop to the practice, but critics say it continues.

More generally, the evidence raises doubts about Barrette’s often-repeated assertions that his government’s health reforms are cutting administrative costs without affecting care.

The two, in fact, go hand in hand. When budgets are cut, administrators must make difficult choices about the level of care they can provide. In Marcotte’s case, the home’s director general said it is “unrealistic” to give him more showers without cutting services to other residents.

Barrette has said one shower a week, combined with sponge baths, can be sufficient to maintain an acceptable level of hygiene. Maybe that’s true for some patients. Evidently it is not so for Marcotte, who says he tries to remain as active as possible, is uncomfortable in the heat, and sweats a lot.

Besides, he rightly points out that showers can have therapeutic benefits. In his case, they help with spasms brought on by MS. They also help him relax and sleep better at night.

All residents of long-term homes deserve a level of care that meets their individual needs. And they shouldn’t have to crowdfund to get it.