TORONTO – A man who had been visiting his wife everyday at the Fairview Lodge is upset she was moved without his consent after a fire in October that displaced over 190 people.
“Everybody has suffered, it’s been horrendous,” Phil Cooper said.
Cooper’s wife Jean has dementia, and was moved to a nursing home in Oshawa following the evacuation on October 27. Just like he’d done every day for several years, Cooper sat by his wife’s side, attending to her every need.
“The night they moved her I was there till 6 p.m. and no one made any mention of the move. And I get back here, home, and there’s a recording saying, ‘we’re moving your wife to Scarborough – at 8 p.m,’” he said.
That move to Toronto means the drive to visit his wife increased from several minutes to 1.5 hours.
Phil’s son Brad Cooper believes his mother’s rights were violated.
According to the Long-Term Care Homes Act every resident or their guardian has the right to participate in decisions regarding transfer.
Neither he, nor his father was consulted with prior to the move out of Oshawa.
“All we got was a message on the answering machine,” Brad Cooper said.
The Cooper family’s calls up had been unanswered as of November 4. Global News called on their behalf and were told by Laura MacDermid, the director of long-term care and services for seniors for the Region of Durham that they were not required to get permission for any moves within 72 hours of the fire.
She also told us that Jean would have to move again because her bed in Scarborough Centenary is only available for 3 to 5 weeks.
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