Critic wants data updated on abuse cases at care sites
The Wildrose opposition is demanding the government immediately release updated statistics and details of all abuse cases at the province’s care facilities.
In the wake of another Herald story about substandard care at a Calgary nursing home, the party’s seniors critic questioned why the Health Department’s protection of persons in care unit has not reported publicly on its work for nearly two years.
“Why are they continuing to hide the numbers and hide the facts when it comes to assault on residents in seniors care?” Kerry Towle asked.
The last annual report issued by the unit was in June 2012 and covered the 2011-12 fiscal year.
Health Minister Fred Horne told reporters recently that he was committed to providing Albertans more transparency and accountability on problems at care facilities by releasing the results of government investigations and audits.
Neither Horne nor department officials responded Monday to written questions about why the unit’s reporting has been delayed.
The minister ordered an audit of the McKenzie Towne Care Centre in December after the Herald revealed two residents died last year after suffering severe blood poisoning.
Both women had open wounds that became infected when they were left for lengthy periods in soiled diapers, but the government’s audits found residents at the southeast city facility were safe and there were no systemic problems.
Now, the son of a former resident has revealed the province concluded eight years ago that staff at the McKenzie Towne facility violated the law by failing to inform the protection unit after a male resident repeatedly fondled female patients in the nursing home’s dementia unit.
Their attempts to stop the abuse were also deemed “insufficient and poorly-planned” by government investigators. A nurse on the dementia ward blamed inadequate staffing.
“I was shocked to hear the allegations coming out of the McKenzie Towne Care Centre and am calling on the PC government to take action to prevent something similar from happening again,” Towle said.
“Seniors were violated and their assaults were ignored and not reported to the proper authorities. This is completely outrageous and entirely unacceptable.”
Revera Inc. runs McKenzie Towne. The private company is owned by the federal employees pension plan and operates 242 seniors facilities across North America.
The company issued a statement saying the situa- tion was unacceptable and it regrets any distress it caused residents and their families.
It said all staff can now use icons on point-of-care terminals to log an incident when they see it happen.
“Duty to report any alleged, potential, suspected or witnessed abuse is clear in our policies,” the statement said.
Towle said the province should re-examine its relationship with the Mississaugabased firm given the revelations about the unreported sexual assaults.
“The government must look into the 14 other long-term care facilities Revera operates,” Towle said.
“The concerns from McKenzie Towne Care Centre are serious and we must make sure that none of the problems there carry over to other Revera long-term care centres.”
Horne had previously asked Alberta’s health watchdog to investigate how well the province’s health authority oversees the quality of care provided at the facilities it funds.
But officials with the Health Quality Council of Alberta said its report will not look at the conduct of specific firms contracted by Alberta Health Services nor the level of funding the province supplies to nursing homes.