Prevention is better than cure

Re: “Pandemic magnifies risk of falls for seniors” (Montreal Gazette, Dec. 1)

I read with interest the painful adventures of Harbachan Kaur Mudhar. While the accompanying “How to Prevent Falls” list is informative, the recommendations are easier to put on paper than in practice.

I am among the 150,000 or so people on a wait list for surgery in Quebec. My husband had back surgery a little more than a year ago. To prepare, we reached out to the CLSC to have them come to our house for a safety check and help put grab bars around the bathtub. After many fruitless phone calls, we got a call back saying they do not do this.

I then went to a store that specializes in safety products. We were told we would have to buy the bars (without knowing how many we would need) and then pay for an installer to come to our house. If, for whatever reason (wall construction, angles), the bars could not be installed, we would be stuck paying for the bars (non-refundable) as well as the installer's displacement fees.

My husband ended up going for rehab for five weeks, at our expense.

Perhaps Kaur Mudhar's fall would have been prevented had she been given a list of safety measures beforehand. With the current problems in our health-care system, the priority should be on prevention, not the cure.

Donna Held, Snowdon