Cape Breton families speak out about impact of long-term care strike on elderly parents

Two Nova Scotia families are speaking out about the conditions their loved ones face in long-term care as strikes go on.

Stephanie Beaton and Jamie Whitty of Port Hawkesbury, N.S., are worried about their elderly parents. They say the strike at long-term care homes in Nova Scotia is affecting their health and well-being.

“Oh, it’s heartbreaking,” said Beaton. “My heart is breaking for my mother. She does not want to live like this.”

Beaton’s 85-year-old mother, Anne Kierstead, lives at the Port Hawkesbury Nursing Home.

Kierstead, a retired teacher, lives with Alzheimer’s. Her daughter says she has lost 24 pounds since moving into long-term care a little more than a year ago, adding that Monday evening’s dinner didn’t help.

“(It included) a small bowl of chicken noodle soup that was mostly broth, with a few noodles in it,” Beaton said. “That was her supper.”

Whitty’s 83-year-old father John Whitty is a former manager at the Port Hawkesbury Paper Mill. He’s in the same facility as Kierstead and also lives with Alzheimer’s.

Whitty says he’s also noticed lapses in the quality of care his dad has been receiving.

“The quality of food, the quality of care, the cleanliness, the cleanliness of his room,” he said.

Lately, Whitty and his mother Claudia have been bringing his father food, which he says has been taking a toll on her.

“(She’s) stressed, not sleeping well,” he said. “Worried about it, talks about it all day long. As soon as we’re done one meal she’s talking about what we’re going to cook tomorrow night for dad.”

“I certainly support the strikers,” added Beaton. “I feel that the work that they do, it’s really difficult, challenging work. Hard, heavy work.”

Both family members said they feel the staff who are there are doing the best they can under the circumstances but it is still not meeting their parents’ needs.

“They’re no longer having weekly showers,” Beaton said. “Their hair isn’t being washed.”

They want the two sides to get back to the bargaining table for the sake of people like their parents who are caught in the middle.

“They don’t have a voice,” said Beaton. “Most of these people have cognitive issues, they can’t speak up for themselves. So that’s why I’m putting a voice to this.”

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