Seniors in the South Cariboo may be interested to know about some concerns highlighted in Seniors Advocate Isobel Mackenzie’s latest report focused on the issue of resident-to-resident aggression in the province’s residential care system.
However, one local senior who works with, and for, his peers, says Mackenzie’s understaffing concern may be less of a safety issue in long-term care homes in 100 Mile House than it is in larger, urban facilities.
Ralph Fossum volunteers with local seniors through the AGE-FRIENDLY Rural Community Initiative that works on projects to help improve seniors’ lives, and he also holds a role on the provincial Seniors Advocate Council of Advisors.
Fossum says patient-to-patient aggression (PPA) is a critically important issue in all residential care facilities.
However, he notes the local long-term care facilities, Mill Site Lodge and Fischer Place, are relatively new and have locked security access.
Noting they are also smaller than many facilities offering this level of care in larger cities, he says it provides more opportunities for staff and patients to get to know one other.
Because of these opportunities, Fossum says PPA doesn’t appear to him to be as much an issue.
Fossum says he had a real-time view of the effectiveness of local security measures when he was recovering from a bout of illness.
“I recently spent over a month in one of our facilities. While I believe I saw one patient who had the potential to be aggressive – and he did enter my room. I noted staff were usually aware of his state of mind, where he was and what he was up to.”
However, on the occasions where he did witness any opportunity for potential aggression, it was usually directed towards staff, he adds.
“I found our staff to be very professional and I was duly impressed with [their] ability to handle and calm the person involved…. I believe PPA in our facilities is very rare to non-existent, but staff are trained and prepared to deal with it should it come up.”
See related story on page A1.
