Advocate Says Aging Population Needs To Be Protected
Cecile Cassista is the executive director with the Coalition for Seniors
Social Development Minister Bruce Fitch says long term care facilities are a priority for the provincial government.
This after the release of a report from Seniors Advocate Norm Bossé last month on the safety of nursing home resident.
The tragic final days of a man’s life as a nursing home resident are highlighted in the investigative report.
The report, He Deserved Better – One Man’s Final Days in Long-Term Care , was unveiled on January 27th.
Norm Bossé said a man, anonymously referred to as “George”, was assaulted by a fellow long-term care resident anonymously referred to as “Tom”, and later died in hospital.
“He was pushed to the floor and sustained a fractured hip. It is further regrettable that this was the third physical incident between George and another dementia patient, all within ten weeks of his admission,” said Bossé.
Executive Director of New Brunswick’s Coalition for Seniors and Nursing Home Residents Rights Cecile Cassista says, “We will be looking to ensure that the recommendations are followed through. I think it is extremely important that it is followed through, and I will keep an eye on the file.”
Thirteen recommendations were made in the report including:
- protection of nursing home residents
- major incident reporting
- complaint process
- staff training
- communication with family members of nursing home residents
- Adult Protection investigations in nursing homes
- independence and oversight of reviews of geriatric deaths and critical injuries.
The report also made recommendations about training. Evidence-based training modules and eLearning are already offered to all 71 nursing homes on a variety of topics including dementia care. The department will continue to work with experts and partners to ensure the best possible training is available.
“I think we need to start making sure that the training is in place for all staff, but more so, I think the Seniors Advocate department should take over this role and there should be sufficient resources for that. We have an aging population and certainly we should be there to protect them,” Cassista says.
Fitch responded to the report last week, “It is a priority of the department to ensure that seniors are very well looked after in all long-term care facilities,” said Social Development Minister Bruce Fitch. “The situation depicted in this report is not something we are taking lightly. We have reviewed all the recommendations thoroughly and we will be taking any necessary measures to address related issues.”
With files from Tara Clow and Allan Dearing
