MONTREAL – The largest nurses union in the province is again sounding the alarm about the need for more resources at long-term care facilities in Quebec.
Friday morning, the president of the FIQ union Regine Laurent called on Health Minister Yves Bolduc to look into improving the situation “as soon as possible.”
The group says few people are drawn to the profession because of a lack of full-time positions.
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“Only 36 per cent of positions in long term care facilities are permanent full-time. Nursing assistants are choosing to go to private facilities where the conditions are much better,” said Michele Boisvert, vice-president of the FIQ union.
Two nursing assistants from the Montreal area also took part in Friday’s press conference. Sonia Mancier told reporters that on average she has to deal with at least 24 patients during a regular shift.
“Sometimes it could be 40 or 60,” she says. “On average a patient needs about three and a half hours of care.”
Earlier this week, a woman in east end Pointe-aux-Trembles went public, denouncing the long-term care system after she discovered that her elderly father had not been given a bath for more than two months.
Health Minister Yves Bolduc is expected to hold a press conference Monday to address the issue.
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