Caregiver request for more showers sees number cut in half

During Question Period Thursday, John Vanthof, NDP MPP for Timiskaming-Cochrane, raised the home care issue after hearing from a constituent who saw her mother’s home care support cut in half.
 
"Carmen is the caregiver for her 91-year-old mother," he said. "She qualified for home care for two showers per week, but after she asked if she could get a few more showers, her mother was re-evaluated and reduced to just one shower per week.
 
“Carmen took her mother out of long-term care because Oma was wasting away,” said Vanthof. “She was doing okay taking care of her at home – Carmen just needed some extra help. After asking, she now has less help. She has been forced to pay for help with the second shower herself.”
 
Vanthof charged that the government is denying people support and leaving elders, people with disabilities, and vulnerable Ontarians to their own devices.
 
“The government should be fixing home care, not letting people get cut off from support and making it so that those who can pay for home care get it and those that can’t go without.”