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1/ THREAD: Canada’s military blew the whistle on ONT LTC homes. Their report was devastating. Pressure ulcers. Filthy briefs. Force feeding, choking. Lonely seniors drugged to stay quiet. Please read the story by @robertbenzie @robferguson1 and @yowflier https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2020/05/26/canadas-military-reports-extremely-troubling-conditions-in-ontario-long-term-care-homes.html
2/ Premier Ford reacted with emotion. Many politicians who came before him did the same when facing similar details. In 2003, when the Star published a year-long investigation into LTC abuse and neglect, health minister George Smitherman cried. He promised a revolution in LTC.
3/ Starting in late 2002, I worked on that series with investigations editor @_kevindonovan .FOI’s produced thousands of govt docs on complaints, critical incidents and thousands of inspection reports. The investigation showed…the same problems raised by the military in 2020.
4/ Here’s the story of Natalie Babineau. She had a stage four pressure ulcer with gangrene but the home didn’t tell her family until her daughter demanded to know the source of the rotting smell. Police later investigated. Her story emerged from one line in complaints database.
5/ The response to the Dec. ’03 series was overwhelming. Minister Smitherman promised he’d fix the system. It seemed many problems would be resolved with new legislation but… time passed. Ministers changed. So did governments.
6/ The Star devoted a lot of time to LTC investigations over the years. I wrote about terrible cases. A woman broke her leg and the home gave her Tylenol. Did they think because she had lived for a long time she didn’t feel pain? Another woman choked to death on a restraint.
7/ In 2011 I worked with @jesse_mclean on an investigation into the new inspection system. It uncovered … people left in filthy briefs, pressure ulcers and this time, a sexual assault on a woman with dementia. She was an artist. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2011/11/17/nursing_home_residents_abused.html
8/ In 2018 @RandyRisling and I spent a year following the transformation of a Peel Region home with the Butterfly model, now Meaningful Care Matters. It showed how focusing on emotions creates a warmer, happier home for residents - and staff. https://projects.thestar.com/dementia-program/
9/ Premier Ford is now promising to fix the system. We will see if he does. We will see if PM Trudeau takes action. Big political decisions can be delayed until they are added to an election platform and … there’s new minister, or a new government. And nothing ever changes.
10/ There’s no denying the urgency. As @DrSamirSinha says, “We can’t deny as a society, we are aging faster than ever before. The need for long-term care will not lessen over time. It is only going to increase.” So, soon enough it won’t be ‘the others’ in homes, it will be ‘us.’
