HARRISTON – The operator of a Harriston long-term care residence says it’s taking action to rectify non-compliance issues discovered by ministry inspectors, including reimbursing residents for improper charges.
Provincial long-term care inspectors visited the Caressant Care Harriston nursing and retirement home on eight days last December, according to a publicly available report published in January.
The inspection was proactive, not prompted by a complaint or past incident, and the home was left with five written notices of noncompliance with the Fixing Long-Term Care Act.
The report states a personal support worker (PSW) was overheard speaking to a resident “in a boisterous and inappropriate manner” which diminished the resident’s right to respect and dignity.
Inspectors also found that an allegation of abuse related to a resident wasn’t immediately reported.
“A staff member reported having witnessed a PSW behaving in an inappropriate manner towards a resident,” the report states, adding the worker’s behaviour included verbal and physical abuse.
The report does not contain more specific details about the allegations or the nature of the abuse.
An inspector reported the allegations to the home’s care director, however an incident report wasn’t completed until two days later.
Infection prevention and control measures were also not properly indicated for a resident who required extra precautions when interacting with them.
“When asked, one PSW was unable to identify the type of isolation the resident was in,” the report states, adding another PSW was unsure which resident in the room precautions were for.
The error, the report states, “could have led to risk of transmission to other residents or to staff.”
It’s unclear from the report what the nature of the infection was or whether staff took any steps to use personal protective equipment such as gowns and masks often used to mitigate transmission.
Inspectors also found issues with staff mixing food and drinks together, which may have led to residents not eating, as well as inadequate communication about meal choices, leading to residents’ confusion.
Finally, inspectors discovered some residents who required assessments by wound care specialists were paying out-of-pocket for the provincially-funded care.
“Two residents were required to pay for their own consultations,” the report states.
“Residents and their families continue to pay” for specialist nurse consults, the report adds, despite funding from the Ministry of Long-Term Care supplied to the home.
In response to questions from the Advertiser, Caressant Care operations director Kayla Ritz stated in an email, “We have promptly reimbursed the affected residents for any undo charges incurred.”
Ritz also noted the company takes the province’s inspections “incredibly seriously” and would rectify issues through “comprehensive action plans.”
Ritz did not address questions about funding, improper charges, or about how the company was responding to problems highlighted in the report.
The Ministry of Long-Term care did not respond to emailed questions by press deadline.
