A Fergus nursing home is one of three in the province ordered to stop accepting new residents due to substandard care.
On Oct. 3 the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care issued a “cease admissions” order to Caressant Care in Fergus and to two Sharon Village Care Homes facilities: Tyndall Nursing Home in Mississauga and Earls Court Long-Term Care in London.
Ministry inspections director Karen Simpson told officials with the Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integration Network the order was issued to the Fergus facility “based on my belief that there is a risk of harm to the health or well-being of residents.”
Minister of Health and Long-Term Care Dr. Eric Hoskins relayed the decision to James Lavelle, president of Caressant Care Nursing and Retirement Homes Ltd., in a letter on Oct. 3.
Hoskins stated the Fergus facility “is in repeated noncompliance with requirements to keep the home, furnishings and equipment clean, and in a good state of repair.
“In addition, there has been repeated non-compliance with the duty to ensure that residents are not neglected by the licensee or staff.”
The ministry’s public reporting website includes eight inspection reports at the Fergus home on six different dates since last December.
In total those inspections found 59 violations, including 14 during the home’s most recent inspection on Sept. 13.
Violations included several examples of resident neglect (such as failing to meet dietary needs and failing to immediately report allegations of abuse) and unclean conditions (ranging from dirty floors and furniture and stained privacy curtains to cigarette butts on the hallway floor and “lingering, offensive odours” in rooms).
The Fergus home also failed to comply with ministry orders related to managing residents with “responsive behaviours” and to the prevention of falls.
In a statement emailed to the Advertiser, spokesperson Lee Griffi stated Caressant Care officials are “working closely with the ministry” to address “compliance deficiencies.
“Our first priority is to provide a high level of care to our residents and our front line staff members continue to work hard to do just that.”
Griffi added the order from the ministry does not affect current residents at the Fergus facility.
Village Care Homes
During an annual inspection in January, ministry inspectors found 51 violations over 13 days at Tyndall Nursing Home in Mississauga.
Earls Court in London, which previously had a “cease admissions” order in 2016, had 20 violations discovered by the ministry during its most recent inspection.
New legislation
The cease admissions orders were issued just days following the government’s introduction of legislation that aims to ensure stricter enforcement against nursing homes.
If passed, the legislation will introduce fines for corporations ranging from $200,000 to $500,000.
