VON Dropping Clients?

One of the largest costs in home care provision, is the delivery of it through third party agencies such as VON and others.

A little realism can go a long way in trying to understand something most people don’t. Home support workers in most case scenarios are not overworked either from physical or mental exhaustion, as would be described by the agencies that represent them. The masses that require these services will tell you; Many examples of the reality are ones that describe the large majority of workers as being under qualified to over work.

As one gentleman I spoke to, now using private care explained, I used four local agencies here in St. John’s before going private, and of them all, the only qualified person ever in my home was I. I had a rotation of two persons a day, and most often that meant upward to eight or ten different faces in my home per week. That is crazy all by itself he said.

I don’t know what the rules say, or for that matter, if there are any rules on hiring even, from an agency perspective. I do know that it appears the only prerequisite required to be a home care worker with an agency is to be a 19 -75 year old dropout, who has a drivers license (or not), a certificate of conduct that declares they have never been “caught” committing the crimes they did, and have loads of experience in sitting around all day waiting for their client to need a drink or go pee!

Now please understand, I am in favor of any amount of home care provision for a person, only god knows when a human needs to pee etc. I am simply saying that for those who work an eight hour shift in home care, with five of those sipping tea, all supported with a grade eight education, $9.30 cents per hour isn’t bad given the minimum wage paid to a janitor at most public establishments.

Lobbyists, advocates and unions are choking off a fundamental service from the person most vulnerable in this province, our seniors, our disabled and our sick.

Each day we see or hear of groups representing the interest of these people, but outside of particular membership, should groups be allowed to advocate for provincial change or speak on behalf of a public community? Of course not!.

A week or so ago, NAPE’s Carol Furlong was busting her chops on unionizing home support workers. For the love of god Carol, grow up. If I am hiring a union worker, I want a contract; they’d want security, benefits, workman’s comp etc. I don’t know Carol; you must first understand the design of home support programs in private homes. How many people will feel like relinquishing their homes up as commercial work sites and all that falls into place with that? City and Fire regulations, excessive home insurance, business taxation, health and safety regulations, the list is endless. Think, Think, Think!

Greed, commercialism and a higher rank on the scoreboard to popularity for being amongst peers in the realm of news making in affecting change, positive or negative is what motivates these people to push hard enough as to lose control of objectionable debate and create pain for others that they cannot heal.

“Speak from what you know, not from what you don’t”. Far too often, the story is in the tea leaves at the bottom of your cup.

Agencies offer a fantastic and over marketed service with pretty brochures, full of stock photography that portray everything but the truth. While Mr. Can Do Little is expecting a promotional Blondie from the guts of CBS ER, he is sadly presented with a toothless beer keg from CBC Trailer Park Boys.

A worse truth is! Agencies getting near double in pay per hour and more than that are some cases, while the worker get’s the government sanctioned rate.

Here is what needs to happen; government would create a database of submitted resumes from all potential home support workers in the province, using the least important skill/education/ability required, up to the most advanced skill/education/ability required.
Persons seeking home support would then be assessed based on physical/respite requirements with their assessment data being then cross matched with the available human resource from the registered workers for an appropriate match.

This list would only be used as an aide for clients and provided by health authorities to clients as a non mandatory provision that a client must only hire from the lists attached.

Government would distance itself from the actual legality of being the employer, by redirecting the cost of hiring to the client or designate for self managed care. Then, close all accounts with agencies, and save the hundreds of thousands of dollars in wasted cost to paper pushers.


Brudder