More Horror Stories

It seems that with each passing week we will read about another horror story about what is happening in our long-term care homes. As more families resort to installing hidden cameras in the rooms of their loved ones there are more stories about physical and verbal abuse. Thankfully, the media, and in particular the Ottawa Citizen’s Elizabeth Payne, is managing to keep the matter in the open for more public awareness.

Some care homes have more than their share of problems and the government is not providing the names of those locations with the public. With the looming provincial elections, I hope the media continues to focus on this matter so it does not get pushed to the back burner. Implementation of video surveillance in all common areas where personal privacy is not an issue should be on the to-do list, with the first priority being the dementia units. No less important is the need for random and unannounced inspections by health officials.

While I appreciate that the problems may be isolated and that the vast majority of personal care workers are probably doing their best, right now there are enough incidents being reported that understandably erodes the public’s confidence in the level of care being provided to those that are best described as being vulnerable to cruel or unjust treatment.

Unfortunately, until our confidence in the care system can be fully restored, the onus will be on family and/or friends to ensure their loved ones are properly cared for. As most, if not all, families may have to go through the long-term care route at some point it is in everyone’s best interest to make the needed changes an issue in the next provincial election.