Complaints of neglect from Cape Breton family

Four hundred complaints made under Protection of Persons in Care Act in 2017

The formation of a new advocacy group called Families for Quality Eldercare is a sign of growing unrest around the standard of care provided to the

province’s most frail senior citizens.

Bob and Norma Silverstein established the non-profit organization this month after Norma’s father died when his bedsores became badly infected while he was a resident at Harbourstone nursing home in Sydney. John Ferguson was 93 when he passed away last October;

Norma’s mother is being cared for in another long-term care facility in Cape Breton.

“As we watched our loved ones age and struggled to address their needs, we have learned there are fewer care workers than needed,” says the opening message on the new website https://www. quality-eldercare.com. “There is also a lack of facilities to house our elderly when we can no longer look after them at home.”

“We are hoping to influence the government to increase the funding for eldercare,” said Norma. “In nursing homes they often have one RN (registered nurse) on for over 100 people. Dad would still be with us today if he hadn’t had those terrible bedsores. He could still feed himself although he lacked mobility. I was not happy that staff put him in a wheelchair where he would have his breakfast and then often remain for the rest of the day.”

Silverstein does not believe what happened to her father was an isolated incident. She filed a complaint requesting an investigation under the Protection of Persons in Care Act last November and is awaiting its final report. Meanwhile, she says her family doctor, who is also an attending physician at Harbourstone’s Kimberley Hall where her father lived, told her he has treated more than 200 cases of bedsores over the past three years. Medical professionals say these are preventable as long as the person gets moved or shifted every two hours.

“Our population is aging quickly. There has been a lack of planning and the need is outstripping the resources in place,” says Dr. Jeanne Ferguson.

Ferguson (no relation to the deceased)

is another founding member of Families For Quality Eldercare. She’s a geriatric psychiatrist, the only such specialist on Cape Breton Island where the last geriatrician left almost three years ago.

“Nursing homes have done excellent work, but they haven’t had a staffing increase in 14 years, and in addition, they had a one-per-cent cut in their budgets in each of the last two years. In one nursing home that I visit there are 27 dementia patients in a locked unit with only two staff at night — and these patients are wandering,” said Dr. Ferguson.

This April, the Mcneil government restored part, but not all, of the money it cut from nursing homes. During their five years in office, the Liberals have increased budgets for home care while refusing to add beds or hire more nurses to improve staff-to-resident ratios. The Homes for Special Care Act requires one licensed practical nurse (LPN) or RN for every 30 residents, and the lower-paid LPNS are the most frequent choice.

Dr. Ferguson and the Silversteins believe the system is under so much strain that long-term care homes should borrow a model that has worked for the Sherwood Community Centre in Saskatoon. At that home, family and volunteers are encouraged to assist staff by coming in to read, feed, walk or talk with residents.

“We clearly need more staff in nursing homes, but we also need families and other volunteers to be on the floor and engaged with residents,” says Dr. Ferguson. “There is no substitute for boots on the ground and eyes on the floor. Either we pay staff or else we need to have volunteers, and I think the right answer is a mix of both.”