A recent study focused on the issue of resident-to-resident aggression has British Columbia Seniors Advocate Isobel Mackenzie pointing to insufficient care time provided to residents in the province’s care system.
In a report summarizing her review findings, Mackenzie notes even in facilities with the most complex residents and highest incidences of aggression, she found some with staffing levels below the provincial guideline of 3.36 care hours per resident per day.
“While we would expect more complex residents translate to more care hours, unfortunately we don’t see this and this concerns me,” says Mackenzie.
Hospital Employees Union (HEU) local representative Barb Matfin agrees reviewing – and increasing – staff levels in long-term care facilities is key to addressing resident-to-resident aggression.
HEU-100 Mile House chair and shop steward Matfin says “it’s about time” this issue was scrutinized.
“The union had been calling for more care staff in long-term care for years, but the government seems to have needed the seniors advocate to tell them what we see every day.”
After reviewing 422 incidents of aggression leading to harm between residents in care homes during the past year, Mackenzie recommends in her report that a further review be done on the care time provided to residents with more complex needs.
There needs to be a closer look at what care hours are appropriate in these facilities, the seniors advocate says, adding Health Minister Terry Lake shares her concern and has called for a systemic review of these issues.
Matfin says she believes if Lake had been “doing his job” as health minster, no review would be needed.
“He acts surprised, like he didn’t know – it’s laughable. He’s the health minister; is he so out of touch with what’s really happening in health care?”
It is the same issue as seen in education funding – the B.C. Liberal government doesn’t hire enough workers to do the actual day to day work, and it’s the workers who are suffering, she adds.
“[Health assistants] have the highest incidence of workplace injuries of any occupation in British Columbia.”
(WorkSafeBC reports show health care assistants account for more time loss claims than any other occupation.)
Matfin says that while it is the care aids who provide the direct, hands-on resident care in long-term care homes, they are “run off their feet.”
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to correlate senior-to-senior aggression with lack of care staff.
“If direct care regulations aren’t being followed, the blame should fall squarely on the government – it’s their policies and lack of funding to health care that has caused this crisis.”
Matfin says she and her fellow HEU members wonder how long the government’s review will take before care staff start getting some shoes-on-the-floor help.
“It can’t come soon enough for B.C.’s vulnerable seniors.”
In conducting research for report, the Office of the Seniors Advocate reviewed more than 400 individual incident reports and compared facilities’ data on medication use, incidence of dementia, paid care hours and other overall characteristics.
More information on this, and other concerns raised in Mackenzie’s report on resident-to-resident aggression in care homes is online at www.seniorsadvocatebc.ca/reports.
