3 northeastern Ontario nursing homes make top-20 abuse report list
CBC News | Posted: January 31, 2018 5:35 PM | Last Updated: January 31, 2018
CBC Marketplace investigation looks at reported cases of abuse in nursing homes across Ontario
A CBC Marketplace investigation reveals some troubling reports of abuse at nursing homes in northeastern Ontario.
The investigation finds three nursing homes in the region made the top-20 list of nursing homes in the province with the highest reported rates of staff-to-resident abuse.
- 40 Ontario nursing homes with the highest rates of reported abuse
- CBC Marketplace 'Crying Out For Care'
Marketplace, through access to information requests, spent a year reviewing nursing home records for 2016 in Ontario. This is what they found:
- Lady Dunn (Wawa) — 16 beds, 2 reported cases of staff-to-resident abuse
- St. Joseph's Manor (Elliot Lake) — 64 beds, 7 reported cases of staff-to-resident abuse
- Extendicare Maple View (Sault Ste. Marie) — 256 beds, 26 reported cases of staff-to-resident abuse
In Ontario, all nursing homes are required by law to immediately report suspected abuse or neglect to the province.
Staff encouraged to report
"The definitions pertaining to abuse under the [Long-Term Care Homes] Act are extremely broad," Kadean Ogilvie-Pinter, CEO of Lady Dunn Health Centre told CBC Marketplace in a statement.
"We encourage our staff to err on the side of caution and to report any suspected incident, even if they are not sure it constitutes abuse, to ensure our residents are living in a safe environment."
An administrator with Extendicare Maple View in Sault Ste. Marie said the facility has a zero-tolerance policy on abuse and adds all staff have been trained on residents' rights and the zero-tolerance of abuse and neglect policies.
"In recent years, we have seen an increase in our home in the number of residents who have cognitive impairment and that is often accompanied with behaviour changes," Carly Brown said.
"Mose resident on resident violence is caused by someone with cognitive impairment and/or psychiatric issues of his or her actions."
St. Joseph's Manor in Elliot Lake did not provide a response to the CBC.
You can see the entire list by CBC Marketplace here.