POLICE ASSOCIATION OF NOVA SCOTIA 81 "I got five minutes on the phone with him to describe what had happened," she says. "They had said that my letter did not meet the definition of abuse and that the investigation was closed." Abuse, as defined by the legislation, does include neglect and failing to provide adequate care. "Any time a family member has a concern, especially over something as serious as a medication error, we would thoroughly investigate and if necessary make any corrections," says Angela Berrette, Saint Vincent's executive director. Neither Saint Vincent incident is included in the 46 reports examined by CBC, nor were they confirmed by the PPCA. Response to every call Lafferty maintains his team takes every call seriously, and while not every call warrants an investigation, each results in an inquiry, which involves contacting the complainant, validating the information and determining its credibility. In order to proceed with a full-fledged investigation, Lafferty's team needs some kind of evidence, such as a corroborating witness, video or documentation. "We're really probing in because we don't close the file until we're confident that it either doesn't fit within our definition of abuse or that it's been resolved," Lafferty said. When an investigation does take place under the PPCA, the government issues improvement directives to the facility, at which point the home has 10 days to respond with an action plan. The facility is then monitored until the government is satisfied the directives have been met. If the abuse involves a professional, the matter is also referred to a licensing body, and to police in the case of criminal behaviour. 'It's disheartening' Gary MacLeod also has concerns with the act and the response of investigators. He's the chair of Advocates for the Care of the Elderly, a group that formed in 2006 following members' own experiences with family members in care. "I've had people come tome with their loved one black and blue in the face and they'll go through the motions of doing their job but they're not really doing their job if no one is ever held accountable or there's no resolution for the families. It's disheartening," he says. MacLeod says nursing homes are understaffed, which he believes leads to a great deal of the neglect, but so, too, is the Protection for Persons in Care team, he says. "There should be more money poured into it, at least having somebody like a hall monitor, going down through the hallways of the facilities to make sure that patients are safe and that they're being cared for and that no abuse is happening." Lafferty says he has enough investigators and points out there are also other avenues which aim to protect people in care. Long-term care facilities licensed by the Department of Health and Wellness are subject to at least two inspections a year in which inspectors show up unannounced and engage with staff, residents and their family members. 'Don't abandon your loved ones' Rudderham-Gaudet successfully applied to move her parents from Saint Vincent's to the South Cumberland Community Care Centre in Parrsboro. Her mother has since died, but she says her father continues to receive excellent care. Meanwhile, she continues to search for answers about her reporting under the Protection for Persons in Care Act and has this message for others: "For God's sake, don't abandon your loved ones in a nursing home. I mean, be there for them, be an advocate, ask questions." www.cbc.ca Reports reveal 46 abuse cases over 2 years in Nova Scotia nursing homes (continued) Maxine Major, Donna Hopkinson's mother, was at Saint Vincent's Nursing Home for five years. (Submitted) Gary Macleod became the chairperson for the Advocates for the Care of the Elderly following a negative experience with his mother while she was in care. (Eric Woolliscroft/CBC)
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