POLICE ASSOCIATION OF NOVA SCOTIA 85 Elizabeth McMillan· CBC News, posted September 25, 2018 Nursing home abuse cases pile up, leaving heartbreak and betrayal Data obtained by CBC News shows on average 13 cases of abuse for every 1,000 beds over 3-year period Norma Silverstein's voice wavers when she recalls the odour coming from the bedsore that caused her elderly father to go into sepsis last fall. She said doctors in hospital told her the 93-year-old might not recover from the wound, which developed last fall during his time at Harbourstone Enhanced Care Ltd. in Sydney, N.S. John Ferguson had been experiencing a degeneration of the spine and had lost his ability to walk. "He was vulnerable ... he was belted in a chair for about eight hours a day. When asked to put him in bed for an afternoon nap, they told me it was too much trouble. Now if that isn't a case of abuse and neglect?" Silverstein said from her home in Albert Bridge, N.S. Whether Ferguson's treatment constituted abuse is still being investigated by the Department of Health and Wellness. Last November, Silverstein reported the case under Nova Scotia's Protection of Persons in Care Act — legislation meant as an extra safeguard for people being cared for in hospitals, residential care facilities and nursing homes. Her father's case is one of nine investigations from 2017 that remain open. Spike in abuse cases New documents obtained by CBC News under freedom of information legislation show a spike in reported and substantiated cases of abuse under the act in 2017, with 42 confirmed incidents, up from an average of 28 the previous two years. Over a three-year period starting in 2015, there were a total of 102 findings of abuse by the Health Department. On average, that's 13 cases of abuse for every 1,000 beds. Of those 102 cases, 63 — that's more than 60 percent — involved physical or emotional abuse. The redacted reports obtained don't make it clear whether the perpetrators in those cases were staff members or residents. There were 17 cases of neglect, which the province defines as a failure to provide adequate nutrition, care, medical attention or necessities of life without valid consent. In 13 instances, residents were found to have sexually abused other residents. In four cases, investigators determined staff sexually abused people in their care. Perry Sankarsingh, the senior executive director of client services and contract management with the Health Department, said the higher number of cases in 2017 might be attributed, in part, to people being more likely to file complaints about their loved one's care. "We do know that general awareness of the [Protection of Persons in Care Act] legislation is increasing, we know that Robert and Norma Silverstein. Norma's father, John Ferguson, was hospitalized last fall due to an infected bedsore. (CBC) continued
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