An Île-Bizard government-run nursing home has been ordered by Quebec Superior Court to hire more staff so residents can get more adequate care.
The help can't come soon enough for a West Island woman who says her 66-year-old husband has been suffering the "deplorable" conditions for the past year.
Patricia Beckford sent CJAD 800 a long list of complaints about the Centre d'hébergement Denis Benjamin Viger including infrequent face washing and teeth brushing for her husband Richard.
"They have him sitting up in the chair for 8-12 hours at a time and all this time, he's sitting in urine and feces and they don't change him," said Beckford, who contacted yourstory@cjad.com
Beckford said her husband has only been at the CHSLD long term care facility for a year but the care has deteriorated.
The West Island health agency in charge won't comment on specific cases but said they are in the process of hiring more staff as per the December court order.
Union spokesperson Cynthia Jehoda said they've been fighting for two years for more help.
"We should begin to see improvements and it should only get better by the end of February," said Jehoda.
"It doesn't mean things won't gradually change."
Beckford said she doesn't blame the staff.
"They're good people, their heart is in the right place but they only have two hands," said Beckford.
The agency is appealing the original arbitrator's ruling in April ordering more nurses, auxiliary nurses and orderlies.
"They don't care about the clientele that they have there because if they did care about the clientele, they wouldn't be resisting to hire people," said Beckford.
The health agency said the current labour shortage is adding to the challenge of finding more staff.