Another, new, CBC report of forty-two cases of abuse happened in long-term care facilities in Nova Scotia in 2017. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/abuse-found-long-term-care-homes-investigations-1.4833147
It was an ACE Team initiative to apply for a FOIPOP,a freedom of in formation document that uncovered just how many cases of neglect and abuse that has been happening
On average there are Two hundred cases of neglect and abuse reported every year with only twenty per cent investigated. So, this report is about par for the course. We have bureaucrats making six figured salaries, dressed in business attire, with coffee and doughnut in hand just talking about health care without ever coming to a conclusion or planned outcome. Meanwhile, our elderly population is suffering from every neglect and abuse conceivable from bedsores, sexual abuse, resident to resident/worker violence, malnourishment, isolation and almost third world condition health care.
Long-term care is a mixture of non-for profit and a private-for-profit system where the elderly pay eighty-five protect the elderly. It does not seem to matter if the facility is for-profit or not-for-profit, the care is inadequate, to say the least. In 2006 the Protection for the people in Care Act was created. Its purpose is suppose to protect the vulnerable from neglect and abuse in long-term care facilities. In the twelve years since this act was created, hundreds of cases of abuse have been reported with no facility or person ever charged or forced to accept responsibility leaving families devastated without closure, even in cases where a death has been declared a homicide.
The department for the People in Care appears to only speak to staff and administration of long-term care facilities and never to the families of the victim who's been abused. after doing an initial investigation, the report is handed over to the police. Police do their investigation which never winds up in court because either it involved another resident suffering from dementia or in the case of a death due to a fall the Coroner's report will state, "Failure to thrive."
It has been widely known for many years neglect and abuse has been occurring in long-term care facilities as a result of being short staffed leaving residents vulnerable. Residents receive only one bath a week, are fed on five dollar-a-day meal budgets, are subject to resident to resident/worker violence, one incontinent pad change per day, sexual abuse and bedsores.
The solution to better long-term care for the elderly is to bring it under the National Health Care Act, taking it out of the hands of the private for-profit and not-for-profit facilities with improved resident to care worker ratios from the present eight residents to one care worker to four residents to one care worker, better trained staff and the trained security staff to prevent physical and sexual abuses happening between residents and resident and workers. It is not rocket science, but our government uses stall tactics by creating studies and panels to investigate how to improve long-term care.
The time is long past due and our government needs to act immediately to improve the quality of care for our elderly population in a safe and compassionate environment.
The Protection for the People in Care Act is a useless piece of legislation that does nothing what it is attended for to protect the elderly. In the 12 years since this act was created, hundreds of cases of abuse have been reported no facility or person has been charged or forced to accept responsibility leaving families devastated without closure, even incases where a death has been declared a homicide