Seniors’ advocate Norman Bossé (Zoom)
The tragic final days of a man’s life as a nursing home resident are highlighted in an investigative report by the New Brunswick seniors’ advocate.
The report, He Deserved Better – One Man’s Final Days in Long-Term Care , was unveiled today.
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.
The report noted questions arose during the investigation about the services provided to this nursing home resident:
- Could his death have been prevented?
- Were there warning signs that his safety was at risk?
- What was done to protect him?
- Was his family kept informed and invited to collaborate on ways to keep him safe?
- Did the Adult Protection investigation fulsomely examine all pertinent issues surrounding the nursing home’s ability to protect residents?
- Was his family treated with compassion and dignity in the wake of the unexpected and exceptionally disturbing loss of their father?
“I am not suggesting that inter-resident violence is an out-of-control problem or worse in our province than in many other parts of the country. But we do know this is an important long-standing and persistent problem that needs to be better addressed,” said Bossé.
In the highlighted case, the coroner ruled “George’s” death a homicide but “Tom” was never charged due to his dementia.
In response, Bosse has made 13 recommendations in key areas 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.
“This is a story of a man who was the victim of different assaults from another resident causing injuries that led his death; he could be your father, your grandfather or your husband,” said Bossé.
“We cannot look the other way; his safety should have been guaranteed. He deserved better and we need to make improvements; seniors deserve better.”
Provincial government response
Are seniors safe in New Brunswick nursing homes?
Social development minister Bruce Fitch posed that question in referencing the report from the seniors’ advocate.
Without hesitation, he said seniors are safe.
“We have full confidence in the commitment and ability of operators and staff to safeguard the well-being and safety of the 12,500 long-term care residents in our province.”
Fitch said Social Development will examine its policies and procedures and undertake a review of the report and its recommendations.
“The incident described in the report is very, very serious. It’s tragic and it is unfortunate. However, this incident is not evident of a systemic problem within our network of long-term care facilities.”
He added various initiatives have already been established to improve services and supports for seniors in long-term care.
