Winnipeg senior left without lifeline as phone company refuses to help family

For most of us, it’s hard to imagine life without cell phones and computers. But there are many people who rely solely on landlines as their way of communication, just like 92-year-old Winnipegger Gina Bridges.

“The phone line is imperative for her,” Gina’s dauther said.

Gabriella Bridges reached out to CityNews. She said her mother Gina lives in an apartment and was supposed to move to assisted living on Tuesday, but after testing positive for COVID-19, her move was postponed to next week.

Before cancelling the move, they had pre-planned with Bell MTS to disconnect her phone line, but since she was too ill to move, they tried to get her phone re-connected but were unsuccessful.

“We explained that she is 92-years-old and that she has a lifeline around her neck that you press,” explained Gabriella Bridges. “She also has home care that comes four times a day and the phone line is literally a lifeline for my mom because home care gets into the building by calling her phone four times a day. If anything happens, she can push her lifeline but without a phone, all of that is impossible.”

With her mom isolated in the apartment, Gabriella says she has been without communication for the past three days. She says they have reached out several times to Bell MTS to get her phone re-connected, but no one has been available to come.

“I just think it is irresponsible for Bell MTS not to have a system in place to help people that don’t have any other choice.”

CityNews reached out to Bell MTS for comment on this matter. They said they can’t discuss specific customer cases but do prioritize specific circumstances such as the use of Lifelines.

“We encourage customers to make us aware of circumstances like this and will make every effort to ensure that any interruptions in service are minimized,” Bell MTS said.

However, Bridges is extremely frustrated and says having no phone line for a matter of days is extremely dangerous for her mom.

“If my mom was a senior citizen who’s 92-years-old that doesn’t have kids or doesn’t have anyone to advocate for her, she would’ve been sitting in her apartment from Monday night with no phone line, hoping somebody would let home care into the home.

“If anything would’ve happened to her, if she fell, couldn’t breathe, etc. She could push her lifeline all she wanted but nothing would’ve happened, nobody would be coming,” she explained.

In 2019, 54 per cent of households in Canada used landlines. Bridges says it’s important to advocate for her mom and many others who continue to use phone lines and is calling to have a better system in place.

“What we were told was we were in the cue. I got irate with them and said ‘somebody who has called and made an appointment and maybe wants a movie channel hooked up doesn’t get bumped out of the cue because a 92-year-old doesn’t have her lifeline hooked up to her phone line. That makes zero sense to me.”

As of Thursday afternoon, Gabriella’s mom still did not have her phone re-connected, even after reaching out several times to Bell MTS to get it fixed.