Thunder Bay, Ont., woman says home-care visits constantly missed, leading to her fall and injury

A Thunder Bay, Ont., woman says her publicly funded home-care provider has regularly missed scheduled visits, and she even suffered a leg gash in a fall while trying to get into her power chair earlier this year. 

The accident happened after she received just one of her four scheduled twice-daily visits one weekend this winter, said Alyssa Kirk, who has significant mobility impairments affecting her hips, back and shoulders.

"I was left so long having to do stuff on my own [that] when I was trying to get into my power chair, I tripped over the footplate," she explained. 

"I was so physically exhausted, and I had about an 11-inch [29-cm] gash that was really deep, and they had to give me stitches inside and out."

Kirk said Home and Community Care Support Services Northwest arranged for her to receive home care from ParaMed around a year ago, and she was relieved at the thought of finally having help with daily living.

The company is supposed to send a personal support worker (PSW) each morning to help her get up, wash, dress, take her medication and provide assistance with basic tasks, she said. 

Someone is also supposed to return each night to help her get ready for bed. 

"I've lost count how many visits I've missed," Kirk said. 

According to Kirk, three or four visits per week were being missed before a manager stepped in after her accident and promised to monitor her service. 

But that service deteriorated again, and on the weekend of July 9, she received only two of her four scheduled visits. 

Even when staff show up, she said, they don't provide all the services she was promised.

"Basically all I really get is changed, meds and out the door," Kirk said. 

"Sometimes even when I'm talking to them, they're already rushing out the door." 

Kirk said she has written messages on the whiteboard of her room in her seniors' living facility asking for help with tasks like applying deodorant and doing her dishes. But she said only one worker has ever provided that help.