(Photo credit: andyreis/SXC)
The safety of nursing homes has been a topic of discussion with an influx of Canadians becoming seniors in the near future.
With a deadly fire breaking out at a Quebec nursing home that killed 27 people, reports of high use of antipsychotic drugs in Ontario’s nursing homes and aggressive seniors in Ontario’s long-term homes, it’s no wonder these retirement options are facing scrutiny.
But a recent London Free Press article offers more damning evidence with 7,502 violations discovered when 629 nursing homes were inspected between 2013 to 2014, but no fines or worker/activity orders were issued. Long-term care homes that had unreported incidents also didn’t face any fines. While the number of long-term care home inspectors were doubled and the government promised in-depth surprise investigations in all Ontario nursing homes by 2014, the effectiveness of the government’s move remains to be seen.
In many cases, nursing homes that had violations only received warnings about their issues . They were advised to create a written plan to remedy the issue, which the ministry may not follow up on. Inspectors issued 3,480 voluntary plans for correction and 681 compliance orders.
In one case mentioned in the Free Press article, an elderly woman was attacked four times, but Mount Hope Centre didn’t report the incident. The long-term care centre was only told to create a plan to prevent the incident from happening again.
In the midst of much negative press, some good has come from ministry inspections. St. Joseph’s Health Centre allocated $2 million to address issues found in its care homes, such as chronic maintenance problems and patient neglect. The money will also go towards enhancing the care centres’ safety by installing sprinklers and the hospital will hire an administrator to remedy issues, such as unreported elder abuse claims. The hospital’s chief executive told the Free Press that any problems found during top-to-bottom inspections were fixed.
While revised legislation was created to protect seniors living in long-term care homes, enforcement and the ability to shut down incompliant retirement homes remains a concern. Last November, the Toronto Star discovered that a retirement home which was found to be neglecting and abusing residents years ago continued to operate, even after the province ordered it be shut down. The retirement home changed its name from In Touch Retirement to Rosemount Place and the owner and operator had 18 people in her care, mostly seniors. The owner was charged with operating without a licence and if convicted for the first time, she could face a fine of up to $25,000 and a year in prison. The operator was once again ordered by the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority (RHRA) to close the home and she was fined $10,000 for continuing to operate after a shut down order.
While the RHRA may deny operating licences, issue warnings or fines and file to have cases heard in court, it doesn’t have the power to shut down a home, take over home operations or enforce orders from the Licence Appeal Tribunal, a spokesperson told the Star.
The personal injury and accident lawyers at Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers can help ensure that long-term care home residents are receiving proper care. They have been handling all types of injuries for over 40 years. We understand the impacts nursing home negligence can have on your life and we know how to help you. Call us at 416-920-4242. Set up a free consultation and come talk with us.
Greg Neinstein
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