Province's 'neglect' leaves man on verge of breaking promise to sister with schizophrenia
Paul Ouellet promised his sister he would never send her to a care home, but help hard to find during pandemic
Paul Ouellet's sister has been in and out of the psychiatric ward at the Moncton Hospital four times in the past five months.
Lorette Ouellet suffers from chronic acute schizophrenia and since the pandemic began, and home-support workers stopped visiting her apartment twice a day, she hasn't taken her medication regularly and has spiralled into psychosis.
The Department of Social Development has said that home-care workers are considered essential and have been maintained during the pandemic, but this has not been the experience of Paul and his family.
"I was told that this is an essential service, the medication management, but Social Development is not capable through the agencies to get the staff," said Paul.
"And I'm sorry, but if any minister of any department says that essential services are in place — they're not."
In the year before the pandemic began, Lorette, 65, had been living in her apartment with support and had not been in the hospital for nearly a year. Since May, she has been in her home for a total of 38 days, and in hospital for 155 days.
Extramural, Social Development unable to meet needs
Paul said the shortage of home-care workers, which was made worse by the pandemic, has meant there isn't anyone to ensure Lorette takes her medication regularly.
In October, Lorette's family physician referred her case to the extramural program, asking that when she is released from hospital that a health-care worker administer Lorette's medication "in her own apartment twice daily to maintain her mental stability." On the referral form the doctor wrote, "This will need to be done long term."
Paul recently learned that extramural has turned down that request.
Officials with the Department of Social Development have also refused to provide the full-time medication management Lorette used to receive.
In a letter to Paul dated June 12, 2020, Dorothy Shephard, who was social development minister at the time, wrote that there have been some situations "where services have had to change" as a result of COVID-19.
Shephard went on to explain that while medication management is an "important need," home-support agencies have been advised to "at a minimum ensure that clients are contacted for reminders around their medications."
Ouellet calls that response "disappointing" since people with severe mental illness require more than a reminder.
Without someone standing at Lorette's side, making sure she swallows her medication, Paul knows his sister won't take it because of the side-effects.
"Sometimes they think in their mind that they're fine, they don't need the medication," Paul said. "Lorette has often told me that voices are telling her not to take her medication."
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Eric Beaulieu, the deputy minister of social development, also responded to Paul in a letter dated Aug. 24, saying that medication management will not continue.
"It is important to note that while home support workers can assist with medication reminders, they are unable to administer medication to any client," Beaulieu wrote.
'Easy way out' for health system
Paul now worries that he will be pressured into breaking a promise he made to Lorette years ago, when he became her power of attorney.
Paul said he's been asked by officials with the Department of Social Development to put his sister into a special care home.
To me, they're passing the buck on mental illness. If the essential services would be in place the way they're supposed to be, we would not be in this situation today.- Paul Ouellet
"[Lorette] asked me two things: never to allow for shock treatments to be given to her because of the symptoms and the effect on her, and never to put her away in a home," Paul said.
"And I told her, 'Lorette, you can take my word. I will not allow that to happen.'"
Paul is angry that he and his sister have been forced into this "heartbreaking situation," which he believes has been caused by a lack of government will to attract, train and retain home-care workers and to pay them a reasonable wage.
"It's an easy way out for the health system to just put her away and throw away the key," he said.
Paul, who is 70, has worked hard over the decades to advocate for his sister and get her the home services she needs to live on her own.
When asked if he could see any benefit to Lorette going to a special care home, he quickly replied, "No, I don't think that it would be better."
In the past, Paul said, his sister has tried to live in group homes and "it didn't work."
"It is her wish to be able to go back home and to be back in her environment. And if something happened to her at home, I would dearly miss my sister Lorette that I very much love, but it would have happened according to her wishes."
"To me, they're passing the buck on mental illness. If the essential services would be in place the way they're supposed to be, we would not be in this situation today."
Paul advocates for people across the province who suffer from mental illness, and said many of them are in similar situations.
"During the pandemic, they have been neglected," he said.
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