Urine stench, delayed medical attention, care concerns behind closure of Mount Carmel seniors home
Ariana Kelland | CBC News | Posted: March 27, 2017 9:30 AM | Last Updated: March 27, 2017
Residents complained of lack of respect at Riverside Country Manor
A seniors home in Mount Carmel, N.L., that lost its licence last year allegedly delayed getting medical care for a resident, failed to change soiled clothing, and exhibited "disrespectful and abusive behaviour" towards Eastern Health staff.
Those allegations are laid out in documents obtained by CBC News through access to information.
The records outline dozens of complaints that triggered the inspection and subsequent closure of Riverside Country Manor Personal Care Home in the St. Mary's Bay community last year.
"Riverside Country Manor continued a pattern of noncompliance with provincial standards in the following months which compromised the care and well-being of residents," Eastern Health noted in the documents.
Among the concerns raised between 2015 and 2016:
- Allegations the home refused to pick up a patient from the Health Sciences Centre and was inappropriate with emergency room staff.
- A pack of feral cats living outside the home, and the smell of urine inside.
- Continued reports of disrespectful and abusive behaviour by the operator and staff towards Eastern Health.
- Staff were not permitted to call Eastern Health with concerns about residents.
- Soiled clothes on residents not being changed, despite the operator knowing about it.
- Delay in obtaining medical care for a resident.
Last July, Eastern Health said the decision to revoke the home's licence was made because of a significant non-compliance with the personal-care home operational standards, but did not provide specifics.
I had to put a mask on to go into [redacted] room because of the smell. Pampers left in the garbage for days, very dirty. - Person interviewed by Eastern Health during inspection of Riverside Country Manor
Six residents of the home were told at the time they had to find other accommodations.
The health authority confirmed the home has not applied for a new personal-care home licence, and the prior licence is still revoked.
Warnings weren't heeded
The home was served notice by Eastern Health on Feb. 3, 2016, identifying violations of personal-care home standards and alerting the owner that an inspection would follow. Effective that date, admissions of new residents were halted.
Eastern Health staff did regular visits and a quarterly review was completed on April 12, 2016. Despite warnings from the health authority, non-compliance issues continued.
In May, Eastern Health's regional manager confirmed a complaint that a resident did not receive appropriate care, and the investigation revealed the home was in violation of five standards.
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About a month later, the operator was served notice their licence would be revoked if they couldn't comply to standards by July 8.
Eastern Health checked in four days in a row in June, and while "some progress" was noted, there were violations every day.
The situation came to a head on June 29, when Eastern Health discovered eight violations, and learned the home had five deficiencies under Service NL's fire and life safety protocols.
Feral cats living outside
Between 2015 and 2016, copious complaints were made, including a pack of feral cats living outside, the home smelling like urine, and issues with patient care.
"You have been advised to stop feeding and remove feral cats from your property. The smell of cat urine in your home has been documented numerous times," wrote the regional manager of Eastern Health's personal-care home program on May 2, 2016.
In response to those concerns, the operator said she had contacted an animal rescue group that would capture the cats in the fall.
"This is not acceptable," Eastern Health said. "You are advised to immediately take all necessary steps to rectify this issue."
Service NL also conducted an inspection that noted 10 cats living outside, and one dead cat was located outside an emergency exit.
The health authority took issue with the "appropriate handling of residents' personal-care needs, cleanliness of resident rooms, and the smell of urine (cat and human) in the building."
The operator, meanwhile, said one of the residents refused to let staff enter to clean the room. Some residents had bowel issues that were cleaned up as soon as staff could. And there were struggles to get male residents to change their clothes and flush toilets.
Eastern Health said her responses appear as though she's holding the residents accountable when they shouldn't be.
In October 2015, a social worker noted a post in the communication log book that a resident was denied dessert for three days as a punishment. A staff member denied it.
Soon after, the communication log book, which was used to record resident complaints, such as food concerns and the smell of urine, was discontinued.
It was later revealed that the operator shredded the log book.
2 weeks without a bath
"There were continued reports from Eastern Health staff experiencing disrespectful and abusive behaviour in their interactions with the PCH Operator and [redacted]," an Eastern Health report said.
In January 2016, a resident was "reported to smell of urine, and was dirty [redacted]," the report noted.
"The complaint also indicated concerns with medication administration at Riverside."
One resident complained in 2015 that he had not received a bath in two weeks, and that he needed to see his doctor for test results.
Similar concerns were outlined by another resident, who also complained that the home was cold.
Home owner 'spitey'
Those allegations were laid out in a document titled Resident History at Riverside Country Manor.
There were complaints that the home owner was "'spitey' and left [one] resident's room [and] 'slammed the door.'"
Eastern Health noted this was in violation of standards, "as the home owner was disrespectful towards residents and violated residents' rights."
Some staff also told the health authority that the owner yelled or disrespected the elderly residents.
The inspection, which resulted in the home losing its licence, consisted of interviews with staff, families, former staff and residents. At that time of the inspection, two residents asked to leave, but requested to return afterwards.
One former staff member noted she "could not stay there any longer saying she couldn't sleep thinking about what was happening," adding one resident would "beg me to give him a bath, he was very smelly and his room was ridiculous."
The inspection found that a staff member signed night logs indicating he checked on patients on May 20, 21 and 22, when he was not even working.
In one case, the health authority learned a resident did not receive medical attention "following a fall where she hit her head and reports from staff that [personal-care home] owner cancelled an appointment for [the resident with a] physician due to resident being sick."
Fear of retribution
In interviews with Eastern Health staff in 2016, some residents noted they were fearful of the consequences of speaking out against the home.
"No, they don't respect me. They wish I wasn't here. They make me feel lousy and no appreciation," said one resident, who later asked to be transferred from the home.
However, other residents noted they felt respected and received all the care they needed, with one saying "she couldn't be treated any better."
Another interview revealed significant concerns about cleanliness.
"I had to put a mask on to go into [redacted] room because of the smell. Pampers left in the garbage for days, very dirty."
On June 10, 2016, the regional director of the long-term care program requested that the home have its licence revoked.
"Despite numerous interventions, there has been insufficient change," wrote Judy O'Keefe of Eastern Health.
Riverside Country Manor Personal Care Home was also one of 22 homes ordered by the fire commissioner in 2008 to close because they failed to install sprinklers.