Seniors deserve better, woman says after care aides drop elderly man

A Saskatoon woman says seniors deserve better care, drawing on the experience her family had with an elderly relative who was dropped by care aides.

Heather Nikota drove from Saskatoon to the Saskatchewan Legislature Tuesday to share the story of her dad, Lorne Rowell. The 86-year-old man was being moved by care aides and he was dropped. He hit his head on a cement floor.

Nikota said he was not taken to hospital and his family was not told about the drop right away. She said they were initially told that he had fallen out of bed. He died less than one month after the incident.

"I don't have answers," Nikota told reporters in Regina. "I just know that we need to do better for our seniors."

She added that she wants the care aides who dropped her dad to know that he would have forgiven them.

Nikota said she is speaking out because she believes there are not enough workers in long-term care homes.

Saskatchewan's health minister said Tuesday he has been reminding long-term care homes that families deserve to know the truth about incidents involving loved ones.

"The fact that families, seemingly in these cases, cannot get a straight answer in terms of what happened is absolutely unacceptable," Dustin Duncan said. He added the province's ombudsman has launched a review of long-term care.

The opposition NDP said the latest case provides another example of systemic problems in long-term care.