Allegations mice bit patient's face prompt suspensions

A union says three workers have been suspended at a long-term care home in Alberta where allegations were made that mice bit a disabled patient's face.

• Mice nibbling patient allegation horrifies health minister
• Dementia patient not bitten by mouse, care home says

Glen Scott, vice-president of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, says the three employees at the St. Therese Villa in Lethbridge were sent home this week.

Scott says the employer, Covenant Health, has told the union the suspensions stem from the allegations about the mice incident.

Rayne Kuntz, a spokeswoman for Covenant Health, wouldn't confirm the suspensions because she says it is a human resources issue.

Friends of Medicare say on Sept. 1 staff saw mice on the face of a woman who has dementia and whose disabilities would have prevented her from removing the rodents.

Covenant Health has said that while a mouse was seen in the patient's room, there is no medical evidence that the woman was bitten by rodents.

It also said that staff did not document anything.

The allegations have prompted Alberta Health Minister Fred Horne to call an investigation under the Protection for Persons in Care Act, along with a review into whether health standards were breached at the St. Therese Villa.