Citing a “risk of harm,” Ontario’s Long-Term Care Ministry has suspended new admissions to St. Joseph’s at Fleming long-term care in Peterborough.
The ministry’s inspections branch issued a letter on May 2 to Home and Community Care Support Service’s (HCCS) Central East branch, and to St. Joseph’s administration, ordering it to “cease authorizing” admissions to the 200-bed long-term home in the city’s west end.
An inspection was conducted at the Brealey Drive facility on May 2.
Long-term care inspections branch director Brad Robinson said the order comes under Sec. 56 of the Fixing Long-term Care Act (FLTCA). The directive will be in effect May 2 until further notice from the ministry.
“The ceasing of admissions has been directed based on my belief that there is a risk of harm to the health and well-being of residents of the home or persons who might be admitted as residents,” stated Robinson.
No explanation for the suspension was provided in Robinson’s letter.
In an email statement to Global News, the ministry says multiple issues of “non-compliance” within the long-term carer home prompted the admissions suspension.
“Through the Ministry of Long-Term Care’s inspections program, issues of non-compliance within the home regarding resident care, staffing, and infection prevention and control were discovered,” the ministry stated Monday evening.
“Due to non-compliance with ministry requirements, a Cease of Admissions order was issued. Follow-up inspections will be ongoing, and the ministry will remain in contact with the home.”
The ministry did not outline specific examples of non-compliance.
Global News also reached out to HCCS executive director Cynthia Martineau. HCCS manager of media relations Adele Small said any questions related to inspections “should be” directed to the ministry.
St. Joseph’s at Fleming administrator Carol Rodd was also contacted.
Prior to the May 2 inspection, an extensive 56-page inspection summary was issued in late November 2023 outlining the results of inspections conducted in August 2023.
The inspections branch investigated multiple alleged incidents of staff-to-residents abuse and neglect.
Some of the incidents included a resident who did not have proper accommodation, nutrition care and services, complaints of failure by the home to provide residents their plan of care, staffing shortage-related issues, an allegation of a resident struck by another, and an incident of staff verbal abuse.
The summary report noted in one incident a personal support worker was fired after leaving a resident alone in a dark room for a period of time without providing them access to a call bell.
The ministry issued several fines for some infractions and ordered compliance be reached on some issues by February 2024.
More to come…
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