Just this month it was revealed in Canada that three-quarters of Ontario's nursing homes had been cited for violating at least some of the 400 general patient care standards set forth by one of the nation's key provinces.
Less than two weeks later the office of the Ontario provincial ombudsman, shamed into action by an investigation conducted by the Canadian Press (CP), announced a sweeping investigation into the province's nursing homes.This is nothing new in Ontario. Four years ago the province's health minister promised reforms to the Ontario elder care industry—and yet, CP found in its investigation that the situation had not changed much, if at all, since 2004, and the numbers are shameful.
"The majority of Ontario's nursing homes have failed to meet basic standards set out by the province to preserve the rights of elderly residents, with some failing to bathe residents even twice a week, others leaving seniors sitting for hours in soiled diapers and still others unnecessarily restraining those in their care," the news agency reports.
"Just over 60 percent of homes across Ontario--and up to 91% in some Toronto suburban communities--have been cited for violating some of the specific set of standards that ensure residents are well fed, clean and free of pain, and that dictate how homes care for incontinent residents and when they use restraints."
And that's nothing, compared to the conduct of Nina Strange, a nursing home care worker in Britain who lived up to her surname after she dipped a toothbrush into bathwater which 72-year-old resident Doreen Walsh had accidentally soiled, then used the soiled toothbrush to wash the woman's mouth. The woman's daughters were distraught upon finding their mother's mouth overrun with thrush, and the poor woman could barely eat. Meantime, Strange's reign of terror continued. She was accused of hitting an 88-year-old wheelchair-bound woman over the head; twice striking an 81-year-old resident in the same manner and ferociously pulling the hair of an 81-year-old woman.
Walsh eventually died of a heart attack only eight weeks after being admitted to Rutland Manor Care Home, located at Ilkeston, Derbys in the UK. The abuse came to light only after a trainee at the home bravely blew the whistle on Strange, despite having been threatened by Strange to zip it, or else.
In court, by the way, Strange was convicted of five counts of ill-treatment—and despite being described by the presiding judge as a "vile, and unpleasant person" whose victims were "defenseless people," Strange was handed only a three-month suspended prison sentence and ordered to do 200 hours of community service.
So what is it about elder care, and the challenges that those involved in elder care face?
Only those who toil in the industry, and have been trained to meet those challenges adequately, know the answer. And amidst all the negative press and screaming headlines trumpeting horrific abuse, there are angels in some of those nursing homes who have unbridled love, empathy and patience with residents.
However, it appears as though angels in elder care are few and far between, and their contributions are so often overlooked by the purveyors of nursing home negligence.
From an outsider's perspective, it's easy to see why. Elder care is a challenge, and can be likened to caring for a baby. Residents often cannot feed, bathe or dress themselves. They are often incontinent and have to wear diapers that need to be changed. And they often cannot communicate. It's the closing of the circle, going back to the way we were as a baby requiring constant care.
The difference is that as an elder we are fully-grown. We are anything but new, and cuddly. We have wrinkles, we might smell bad, and we can often be reduced to belligerence given the frustration of losing the capacity to look after ourselves. As a baby, we're not aware of all of this. As an adult, after a lifetime of caring for others and bringing home the bacon, running the world—now we suddenly can't look after ourselves.
No, elder care is not easy. However, that challenge does not excuse abuse, and it is the responsibility of the nursing home or elder care facility to ensure that all residents, regardless of the individual challenges, are treated with the respect, fairness and the dignity that is their due. Nothing less is promised by the principles of the facility when the family visits in order to approve a facility for their loved one.
READ MORE NURSING HOME ABUSE LEGAL NEWS
That's the only way to keep the Nina Stranges of the world, away from our elder loved ones.
Until that happens, and as long as nursing home abuse continues, lawyers will be busy—and the families of defenseless seniors systematically abused by tyrannical villains in the guise of caregivers, would be forgiven for wanting to sue them…