Dear Editor:
RE: Nursing home inspection reports reveal resident injury and verbal abuse, Oct. 7.
The Ministry of Long-Term Care inspected two Caressant Care facilities, and they discovered reports of injury and verbal abuse from the residents.
A report stated that a PSW attempted to transfer a resident on their own, when the resident’s care plan said that two additional staff members needed to be present to help. The resident lost their balance and needed to be lowered to the floor. The next day, the resident got transferred to a hospital and was diagnosed with an injury.
A different report mentioned a resident being on the receiving end of verbal and emotional abuse. The PSW mocked and belittled the resident they were caring for, and they were also rough with the care they provided.
While resident harm is a prominent issue, the caretakers can get abused as well. I have a friend who works in a retirement home, and she mentioned to me that her sister once was hit by a resident.
These facilities have taken a turn for the worse, and they don’t always treat residents with dignity and respect. Different homes have different facilities. Other articles I looked at told horror stories about the care that some residents received.
The government has seen these issues, and they are looking into the idea of the government running the homes.
A majority of said facilities are for-profit organizations so those running them may have intentions of squeezing every penny out of the business. That in turn, will put a strain on the individual homes, and that strain could filter out into the treatment of residents or caretakers. On the other hand, I have heard wonderful things about other homes, the staff is good and the residents are well taken care of. More often than not, these better homes are actually non-profit organizations.
The government has seen these issues, and they are looking into the idea of running the homes. They have looked into both sides of the story, and seen the joys and pains of working in retirement homes.
I feel that it is a good idea, I do worry that things could be good for a while, then potentially go wrong. There could be cuts to care, more strain put on residents and staff, or it could be a positive difference in homes. There could be better care, and there would be less burdens and strain put on the residents and staff.
It could go either way.
Danielle Westrik,
West Garafraxa