Emmanuelle Racine broke down in tears when she arrived to visit her grandfather at the Gatineau Hospital last week and found him naked and soiled.

"He was completely naked, he was hiding himself with a little napkin," she said, describing 93-year-old Royal Racine, a Second World War veteran.

"He was soaked in urine."

Royal Racine had recently been hospitalized with pneumonia for the eighth time and cried out to the family, "I'm freezing," as they entered the room Oct. 19, she recalled.

In addition to suffering pneumonia, the elderly man is incontinent and in the early stages of dementia.

Emmanuelle Racine said she started to cry when she arrived at Gatineau Hospital Oct. 19 to find her 93-year-old grandfather naked, soiled and uncovered. (Radio-Canada)

'How can they treat him like that'

The nursing staff the family tracked down complained about missing personnel and told them he'd been left naked and uncovered for more than an hour, Emmanuelle Racine told Radio-Canada in a recent interview.

"I started to cry because I was like, how can they treat him like that, you know?" she said.

Royal Racine is being treated for pneumonia at Gatineau Hospital and is due to be released Friday. (CBC)

And it wasn't the first time she'd found her grandfather soiled with no covers, she added.

On another visit just days earlier on Oct. 14, she smelled the urine and waste before walking through the door, she said.

When Royal Racine saw his granddaughter and son, Marcel Racine, he said, "Why are they doing this to me?" Emmanuelle Racine remembered.

'What happens when we're not there?'

On that occasion, nurses confirmed to the family Royal Racine had been left without covers or clothes since supper about two hours earlier, Marcel Racine said.

The family has been reluctant to launch a formal complaint with the hospital while Royal Racine is still a patient there, out of fear his care will worsen.

Instead, Marcel Racine wrote an email to Quebec Health Minister Gaétan Barrette, along with photos of his father, imploring the minister to investigate. The family has since received a response saying their letter was received.

Emmanuelle Racine also took photos of her grandfather at the hospital on Oct. 14. (Emmanuelle Racine)

"What happens when we're not there?" Marcel Racine told Radio-Canada. "I'm worried about the way things are done over there."

One of the problems addressing the issue was getting someone's attention, he added.

"We were at the counter, waiting and waiting, and no one is giving you even eye contact. They know we're there, and I understand that they're busy. At one point I grabbed a nurse in the corridor and said, 'Can you help me? Can you explain why my father is in a situation like this?' She said, 'I know, I know.'

"And I asked, 'So what can we do?' And she said, 'You see the drawer there? Take a blanket and cover him while you wait.'"

Health agency to conduct investigation

This week, a spokesperson for Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux (CISSS) de l'Outaouais, the health agency responsible for the Gatineau Hospital, said it would conduct its own investigation.

"Those are very serious allegations," said CISSS spokesperson Geneviève Côté, adding the agency will try to figure out if something went wrong and make improvements if necessary.

Geneviève Côté, a spokesperson for Centre Intégré de la santé et des services sociaux (CISSS) de l'Outaouais, said the health agency will investigate Royal Racine's treatment. (Radio-Canada)

"Obviously we want to meet the family and understand what happened," Côté said.

She also encouraged any families concerned about the care of a loved one to immediately inform a manager.

Speaking to staff is good but it's best to take the issue to someone in authority, Côté said. And if the family is still not satisfied, complaints can be made to the CISSS's service quality and complaints commissioner.