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When Doris Lawton’s Alzheimer’s disease began to worsen at age 93, her grandson moved her into a long-term care home to keep her safe.
“I put her there because I thought she was going to be protected,” said Bradley Sproule. “That is the one thing that didn’t happen.”
What did happen soon after Lawton moved to Carlingview Manor in 2016 were falls — including one the day after she returned from the hospital following surgery for a hip fracture, according to her grandson and a statement of claim he has filed against Revera Long Term Care Inc., which operates Carlingview Manor.
Those repeated falls resulted in hip fractures, surgeries, long hospital stays and worsening health for the elderly Ottawa woman. She died on Oct. 19, 2017, from a pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in her lung), not long after her final hospital stay.
Sproule is suing Carlingview Manor for negligence, which he is alleging contributed to the death of his grandmother.
In court documents filed as part of the lawsuit, he says that the long-term care home failed to protect his grandmother by initially failing to adapt her care plan to prevent falls. When it did make changes, he alleges, it failed to communicate them to staff. And even when it had a plan in place, the suit contends, it failed to follow it.
Sproule, who is Lawton’s only living relative and spent much of his childhood with her, said he felt as though his grandmother was “just another number,” at the long-term care home.
Her care plan said explicitly that bed rails on her bed “are to be both up right, when she is in bed, and include (an) air mattress with built-in bed rails.” Sproule, however, has photographs in which the bed has no railings and is not lowered for safety. Sproule also has a photo that he said shows batteries missing from a bed alarm that was supposed to reduce his grandmother’s risk of falling.
Lawton was moved into Carlingview Manor, operated by Revera Long Term Care Inc., on March 10, 2016.
On July 21, 2016, she had her first serious fall at the home, fracturing her hip, according to the statement of claim.
When she returned after surgery on July 27, the nursing home did not alter her care plan with steps to prevent future falls, such as the use of bed rails, the court documents allege. The next day, Lawton fell again while attempting to get out of bed, something her grandson said he still finds difficult to comprehend.
“How does somebody fall the day after they come home from the hospital for an operation? How is that even possible?”
Photo supplied by Bradley Sproule of his grandmother, Doris Lawton.
The nursing home attempted to amend Lawton’s care plan after the second fall, according to Sproule’s statement of claim, including the use of a wheelchair and bed alarm and by placing mats around her bed. The changes were noted in her electronic records, but not recorded on cards that personal support workers could see until she had another fall, the statement of claim alleges.
On Sept. 23, she fell for a third time, which resulted in a second surgery. The home installed a bed alarm and made changes so that personal support workers had access to her updated care plan, the lawsuit says.
On Dec. 2 of 2016, Lawton fell again.
Before Lawton’s death, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care found the home non-compliant with legislation governing care homes. Staff at Carlingview Manor were unaware of Lawton’s care needs and the home failed to ensure Lawton’s care needs were updated following a series of falls, a ministry inspector found.
After her death, a fresh ministry report, reviewed by this newspaper, made no mention of her falls, but issued a non-compliance order to the home for failure to do proper skin and wound care. When she arrived in the hospital shortly before her death, she was found to have two large bed sores that were infected.
Daniel Nassrallah, who is representing Sproule through his law firm DNG Nassrallah Law Offices, said that, in his opinion, the reports the ministry has issued regarding Lawton’s care are “incomprehensible and watered down.”
Lawton had a final serious fall on or around Oct. 4, 2017 (Sproule said she had eight falls in total, some more serious than others). Sproule said a staff member from the long-term care home called him to say they thought she was OK. He said he demanded she be sent to the hospital — which was part of her care plan after a fall. There, Lawton underwent another surgery to repair her right hip.
Even after that, he alleges, his grandmother was in a bed without a bed rail when she returned to the home. Sproule said he was told the long-term care home did not have air mattresses that could safely accommodate bed rails. Lawton required an air mattress because of bed sores. The home said it lowers residents’ beds in cases where they have an air mattress and places mattresses around the bed, according to Sproule.
Lawton died on Oct. 19.
A coroner’s report after her death concluded Lawton’s death was accidental and caused by a pulmonary embolism “related to a decline after a fall where she sustained a hip fracture.”
Supervising regional coroner Dr. Louise McNaughton-Filion wrote: “After … discussion with the manager, I don’t have concern regarding the care that she received at the nursing home; she had adequate fall prevention measures in place as well as adequate assessment and follow-up with the multidisciplinary team.”
Sproule’s lawyer said the coroner took the home’s word that it did everything possible to prevent falls, including lowering her bed and installing alarms. Nassrallah added that Sproule’s experience and the photographs that showed the bed not lowered and batteries missing from the bed alarm contradict the narrative relied upon by the coroner.
“A photograph depicts Lawton in bed in October 2017, shortly before her death, with the bed raised high — not in a lowered position — and with no bed rails or safety measures in place to prevent Lawton from falling out of bed again, as requested by her plan of care,” he said.
Sproule has since been told the coroner’s report he received was preliminary and had been accidentally sent to him because of a “technical glitch.”
Linda Stumpo, director of regional operations, long-term care with Revera, declined to comment. “To protect the privacy of our residents, we never discuss any individuals publicly, even if their families choose to do so. As this matter is before the courts, it would not be appropriate to comment at the present time,” she said.
No one from Carlingview Manor was available to comment. The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care did not respond to questions initially sent to it Friday about this case.
None of the allegations has been proven in court.
epayne@postmedia.com
查看原文...
“I put her there because I thought she was going to be protected,” said Bradley Sproule. “That is the one thing that didn’t happen.”
What did happen soon after Lawton moved to Carlingview Manor in 2016 were falls — including one the day after she returned from the hospital following surgery for a hip fracture, according to her grandson and a statement of claim he has filed against Revera Long Term Care Inc., which operates Carlingview Manor.
Those repeated falls resulted in hip fractures, surgeries, long hospital stays and worsening health for the elderly Ottawa woman. She died on Oct. 19, 2017, from a pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in her lung), not long after her final hospital stay.
Sproule is suing Carlingview Manor for negligence, which he is alleging contributed to the death of his grandmother.
In court documents filed as part of the lawsuit, he says that the long-term care home failed to protect his grandmother by initially failing to adapt her care plan to prevent falls. When it did make changes, he alleges, it failed to communicate them to staff. And even when it had a plan in place, the suit contends, it failed to follow it.
Sproule, who is Lawton’s only living relative and spent much of his childhood with her, said he felt as though his grandmother was “just another number,” at the long-term care home.
Her care plan said explicitly that bed rails on her bed “are to be both up right, when she is in bed, and include (an) air mattress with built-in bed rails.” Sproule, however, has photographs in which the bed has no railings and is not lowered for safety. Sproule also has a photo that he said shows batteries missing from a bed alarm that was supposed to reduce his grandmother’s risk of falling.
Lawton was moved into Carlingview Manor, operated by Revera Long Term Care Inc., on March 10, 2016.
On July 21, 2016, she had her first serious fall at the home, fracturing her hip, according to the statement of claim.
When she returned after surgery on July 27, the nursing home did not alter her care plan with steps to prevent future falls, such as the use of bed rails, the court documents allege. The next day, Lawton fell again while attempting to get out of bed, something her grandson said he still finds difficult to comprehend.
“How does somebody fall the day after they come home from the hospital for an operation? How is that even possible?”
Photo supplied by Bradley Sproule of his grandmother, Doris Lawton.
The nursing home attempted to amend Lawton’s care plan after the second fall, according to Sproule’s statement of claim, including the use of a wheelchair and bed alarm and by placing mats around her bed. The changes were noted in her electronic records, but not recorded on cards that personal support workers could see until she had another fall, the statement of claim alleges.
On Sept. 23, she fell for a third time, which resulted in a second surgery. The home installed a bed alarm and made changes so that personal support workers had access to her updated care plan, the lawsuit says.
On Dec. 2 of 2016, Lawton fell again.
Before Lawton’s death, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care found the home non-compliant with legislation governing care homes. Staff at Carlingview Manor were unaware of Lawton’s care needs and the home failed to ensure Lawton’s care needs were updated following a series of falls, a ministry inspector found.
After her death, a fresh ministry report, reviewed by this newspaper, made no mention of her falls, but issued a non-compliance order to the home for failure to do proper skin and wound care. When she arrived in the hospital shortly before her death, she was found to have two large bed sores that were infected.
Daniel Nassrallah, who is representing Sproule through his law firm DNG Nassrallah Law Offices, said that, in his opinion, the reports the ministry has issued regarding Lawton’s care are “incomprehensible and watered down.”
Lawton had a final serious fall on or around Oct. 4, 2017 (Sproule said she had eight falls in total, some more serious than others). Sproule said a staff member from the long-term care home called him to say they thought she was OK. He said he demanded she be sent to the hospital — which was part of her care plan after a fall. There, Lawton underwent another surgery to repair her right hip.
Even after that, he alleges, his grandmother was in a bed without a bed rail when she returned to the home. Sproule said he was told the long-term care home did not have air mattresses that could safely accommodate bed rails. Lawton required an air mattress because of bed sores. The home said it lowers residents’ beds in cases where they have an air mattress and places mattresses around the bed, according to Sproule.
Lawton died on Oct. 19.
A coroner’s report after her death concluded Lawton’s death was accidental and caused by a pulmonary embolism “related to a decline after a fall where she sustained a hip fracture.”
Supervising regional coroner Dr. Louise McNaughton-Filion wrote: “After … discussion with the manager, I don’t have concern regarding the care that she received at the nursing home; she had adequate fall prevention measures in place as well as adequate assessment and follow-up with the multidisciplinary team.”
Sproule’s lawyer said the coroner took the home’s word that it did everything possible to prevent falls, including lowering her bed and installing alarms. Nassrallah added that Sproule’s experience and the photographs that showed the bed not lowered and batteries missing from the bed alarm contradict the narrative relied upon by the coroner.
“A photograph depicts Lawton in bed in October 2017, shortly before her death, with the bed raised high — not in a lowered position — and with no bed rails or safety measures in place to prevent Lawton from falling out of bed again, as requested by her plan of care,” he said.
Sproule has since been told the coroner’s report he received was preliminary and had been accidentally sent to him because of a “technical glitch.”
Linda Stumpo, director of regional operations, long-term care with Revera, declined to comment. “To protect the privacy of our residents, we never discuss any individuals publicly, even if their families choose to do so. As this matter is before the courts, it would not be appropriate to comment at the present time,” she said.
No one from Carlingview Manor was available to comment. The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care did not respond to questions initially sent to it Friday about this case.
None of the allegations has been proven in court.
epayne@postmedia.com
查看原文...
