Sexual abuse at city nursing home initially unreported, AG finds

UPDATE |City council unanimously passed the auditor general's recommendations May 9.

A possible case of sexual abuse ata city-run long-term care home could have been prevented, but instead went unreported until the next day, an investigation by Ottawa'sauditor general has concluded.

Auditor General Ken Hughes also had no assurance that a similar incident would be handled properly in the future to protect residents, he said Monday.

It's quite possible that there were other incidents that went unreported.- Auditor General Ken Hughes

The report doesn't reveal precisely when the incident occurred, or in which of the city's fourlong-term care homes.

According to the report, afemale resident who can't speak or leave her wheelchair disappeared at one of the homes last year. When a personal support worker discovered her absence, he had a feeling he knew where she was and dashed to the room of a male resident who had been showing signs of "sexually inappropriate behaviour" earlier that day.

The worker found the man naked, trying to position himself on the fully clothed woman in her wheelchair.

Nurse intervened

The manager on call at the time decided the incident wasn't a case of sexual abuse and chose not to report it to police or the Ministry of Health andLong-Term Care.

It wasn't until the next morning when anurse arrived on shift and reviewed what had happened that she and themanagerdecided to report the incident after all.

If it hadn't been for the nurse's intervention theincident may have gone unreported,said deputy auditor general Sonia Brennan.

The auditor launched the investigation afterreceiving two anonymous letters accusing management at the home of mishandling a case of abuse.

Inconsistent policies

In some cases, the city's policies that tell staff when to report an incident contradict each other, the auditor found. While one policy dictates any suspected case of abuse must be reported, another says to report only cases where an injury has occurred.

The auditor also found the incidentcould have been prevented.Staff knew the man had been behaving inappropriately, yet he was allowed to remain in a unit where most of the other residents were women.

It wasn't until after the incident that he was placed under one-on-one monitoring, theneventually transferred to an all-male unit.

Because of the gaps that existed at the time of the incident, "it's quite possible that there were other incidents that went unreported,"Hughes said.

Possibility some incidents went unreported, auditor general says

7 years ago

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Auditor General Ken Hughes says due the city's contradictory polices about when to report an incident, it's possible some instances of abuse went unreported.

The ministry eventually found staff at the home had done their due diligence to protect the resident and report the incident, and police did not lay charges.

Those added measures include enhanced staff training to clarify their responsibilities when it comes to reporting abuse.

$3M problem

The 2018 city budget provides$1 million less for long-term care thanwhat was spentin 2017.

Athird-party expert hired by the city to review its four long-term care homes in an attempt to curb abuse also found the homes to beshort-staffed. Greg Fougre, the former head of Ottawa'sPerley and Rideau Veterans' Health Centre, uncovered examples of emotional abuse and neglect of residents, and pointed to overworked staff as a possible cause.

Ottawa's city-run homes provide 18 fewer minutes of one-on-one care to residents per day than the 2016 provincial average for non-profit homes, Fougre said.

The report, which has not been made public, recommends the city will need to spend $2.6 million per year to hire 35 new full-time personal support workers, and $600,000 to hire nurses and other staff members to bring care levels up to the provincial average.

'Aggressive plan'

The community and protective services committee voted to accelerate that hiring using $800,000 in 2018.

"The one consistent message is that we need more staff," Burelle said.

On Tuesday the city's finance committee will consider a $1-million cash injection to replace equipment and upgrade technology at the homes.

It's all part of an "aggressive plan"to curb abuse that includes recommendations from the auditor general, the ministry and Fougre's investigation. It will be implemented by the end of next year, according to city manager Steve Kanellakos.

Both the plan and the spending needed to fund it must be approved by city council on May 9.