ManitobaMore than a week after Manitoba’s health minister promised changes to the province’s home care system, a Winnipeg man says he didn’t get proper care twice in a matter of days. Paralyzed man says he didn’t get the proper home care on two separate occasions in recent daysDave Baxter · CBC News · Posted: Oct 09, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours agoGerald Cadmen is speaking out about the state of home care in the province, after he says he didn’t get the care he required twice in a matter of days. (Rosanna Hempel/CBC)A Winnipeg senior is speaking out after he says he didn’t get the home care he required twice in a matter of days, and just days after the province promised things were going to get better. “It sounded like there would be a new era on Oct. 1 — that’s what it sounded like to me — and twice in the first week it didn’t work,” 73-year-old Gerald Cadmen said. At a press conference on Sept. 29, Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara publicly apologized for what they said was a flawed roll out of a new system meant to centralize scheduling for home care-workers in Winnipeg.The health minister admitted the new system roll out led to cancellations and delays in service.They also promised that starting Oct. 1 workers would be assigned to specific geographical areas, marking a return to the way things were before the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority implemented the new system earlier this year.At a press conference on Sept. 29, Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara publicly apologized for what they said was a flawed rollout of a new system meant to centralize scheduling for home-care workers in Winnipeg. (Arturo Chang/CBC)Cadmen, who is paralyzed from the waist down and lives in an assisted living facility, said he requires home-care visits multiple times a day, including needing two workers to get him into bed at night. But he said things didn’t go as planned twice recently. On Oct. 1, only one worker showed up to get him into bed, and on Oct. 7, home-care workers who were supposed to show up at 9:30 p.m. arrived instead a half an hour earlier. In both cases he said he received no messages or calls warning him about the changes. On the night only one home-care worker showed up, that worker was not warned about the changes either. “Oh I was so mad,” he said. “I was so mad myself, and the health-care worker said she didn’t get a call.“We were both upset.”Cadmen said he spends a lot of time out and about using his wheelchair to get around, and wonders what would have happened if he had not been at home when workers showed up too early.”What if I’m not in my room or even out of the building, and they’ve made a change, like there has been lots of times … and I happen to be in my room, but what if I wasn’t?”He has now gotten to the point where he has a hard time believing it when the province promises improvements to home-care, or any health-care services. “Deep down I knew there couldn’t be a change from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1, so it was just another, ‘I’m going to do something and I hope I can fool everybody into believing there’s going to be a change,’ because there wasn’t.”Cadmen also spends a lot of time worrying about if workers will show up, or if they are going to show on time, which he said causes him stress and anxiety. Province adding staff, shifting schedulesThe province has said it’s added 230 net home-care aides since fall 2023 and that 32 scheduling clerks have also been hired since July.But Cadmen doesn’t have much faith in the scheduling clerks, because he said they often don’t know different clients’ needs. “Schedulers don’t know what I have, what’s wrong with me, so to them I’m just a block,” he said.Gerald Cadmen said he requires home care visits multiple times a day, including needing two workers to get him into bed at night. (Randall McKenzie/CBC)In a statement, Asagwara asked anyone dealing with home care challenges to contact their office directly. “These changes are still very new, and while we’re seeing the benefits, we will be monitoring closely to make sure they deliver the reliability Manitobans deserve,” Asagwara saidA spokesperson with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority said the home-care program is currently working on adjusting shifts for scheduling clerks to increase the number of clerks working during the busiest scheduling times. “The goal is to ensure there are enough scheduling clerks available to reduce last-minute changes and better match staff availability with client needs,” the spokesperson said. The health authority is also encouraging clients or their family members who may have concerns regarding home-care services to reach out to their case coordinator.WATCH | Senior disappointed with inconsistent home care:Winnipeg man says he’s disappointed with inconsistent home careA Winnipeg man said he continues to experience problems with his home care, a week after Manitoba’s health minister apologized for the rollout of a new home-care system and said changes were coming.ABOUT THE AUTHORDave Baxter is an award-winning reporter and editor currently working for CBC Manitoba. Born and raised in Winnipeg, he has also previously reported for the Winnipeg Sun and the Winnipeg Free Press, as well as several rural Manitoba publications.With files from Rosanna Hempel
Winnipeg senior says home care frustrations continue despite promised changes
