Several employees of the CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale say they fear for their health and that of users each time they go to work in residences that are “intensive care” for intellectual disabilities. A major problem of understaffing is pointed out.
The number of specialized educators at the Intellectual Disability Rehabilitation Center (CRDI) in the Capitale-Nationale region has dropped considerably in recent years.
Eighteen employees of continuous assistance residences (RAC) in the greater Quebec City region have left the ship in the past year. Urgent labor needs were met by “unskilled” workers.
“The RACs are the intensive care units of the Intellectual Disability Rehabilitation Center,” explains the president of the Union of Health and Social Services Professionals, Technicians and Technicians (SPTSSS) of the Capitale-Nationale region, Nicole Cliche. There are the heaviest cases of autism spectrum disorders and behavioral disorders. It takes a wealth of knowledge to intervene with them. »
Challenging task
According to the union, the significant presence of employees provided by placement agencies or other departments of the CIUSSS in these specialized establishments “jeopardizes the safety of the qualified workers” who must supervise them in addition to performing their tasks. daily.
“I saw a co-worker get pulled violently by the hair by a hypersensitive autistic person because an agency worker wanted to give him a hug to comfort him. There isn’t a day when I go to work without wondering what state I’ll be back in the evening,” confides Maryse (fictitious name), a specialized educator who has worked with special RAC clients for nearly 20 years.
Difficult recruitment
In 2022, the CIUSSS launched a temporary measure calling on other departments of the organization to come and “troubleshoot”. This was only supposed to last a few months, but eventually had to be extended.
“I’ve worked with tinsmiths, construction workers and integration employees who barely speak French. It helps to have extra arms, but it increases the risk of accidents and the pressure on the shoulders of specialized educators, ”says Maryse.
The president of the union claims to have had several discussions about working conditions in the RACs with the CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale.
Although efforts have been made to improve their sense of security, she considers that the government “seriously lacks recognition” for the workers of these particular backgrounds.
“The Ministry of Health does not want to recognize the danger and the complexity of working in residences with continuous assistance. Even if they are not often put forward, users are human beings who have significant needs and who are entitled to safe and quality services. »
Reinforcements slow to arrive
The CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale maintains that significant efforts have been made in recent years to lighten the work of technicians in continuous assistance residences (RAC).
“We are aware of the urgent personnel needs and we are doing everything we can to solve them, but we cannot force people to come to work. It takes us time and we don’t want to rely on mandatory overtime, ”says the RAC coordinator of the CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, David Cantin.
He also affirms that it is very difficult for the CIUSSS to compete with the school environment with regard to working conditions and salary.
Change of direction
David Cantin himself recognizes that, of all the departments of the Center for Rehabilitation for Intellectual Disabilities, the residences with continuous assistance present the most difficult clientele.
Rather than persisting in finding new specialized educators, the CIUSSS will focus on adding auxiliaries to health and social services in order to “lighten the workload” of specialized employees.
“We determined that the workers do a lot of non-value-added work, such as washing dishes, cooking and hygiene tasks,” underlines Mr. Cantin. By adding auxiliaries and intervention agents, the specialized educators will be able to devote more time to intervention and rehabilitation. The roles of each have been reclarified to provide competent services. »