More questions are being raised and fingers are being pointed after at least one patient was discharged from an Alberta hospital and moved to a motel for care by an unfamiliar social services agency.
Blair Canniff, 62, was a patient at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton for about six months. He was in a wheelchair after suffering a stroke. Then, his wife said he was told by a social worker in early March that he was being moved to different lodging.
That lodging ended up being a Travelodge motel in Leduc, which was not set up for someone in a wheelchair.
“When he first got there, no one explained anything to him,” Canniff’s wife, Myna Manniapik, said. “He called me to help him out.”
They said he had to pay $1,600 up front.
“He was in the bathroom this time and had been sitting there for some time. He said he kept trying to call the nurses and they never came,” Manniapik said.
“He was in a lot of pain, as well as very frustrated.”
Manniapik said Contentment Social Services notified Canniff he was being moved from the hospital. That group was also running the care program at the motel.
Global News spoke to other people at the motels who told us they are receiving medical care while there.
Contentment Social Services is described on its website as a not-for-profit group based in Edmonton and that its work includes employment assistance, housing referrals, financial management, “women empowerment” as well as senior, disability and respite care.
Contentment Social Services did not respond to numerous requests for comment by Global News.
In an emailed statement, Alberta Health Services spokesperson Kristi Bland said it’s important hospital beds and resources are used for patients with acute care needs, and discharge planning generally begins when a patient is admitted.
Bland said care teams – including social workers, nurses, transition co-ordinators, allied health professionals and physicians – work with patients and their families to determine the best place to go when they no longer need acute care.
“Based on an individual’s care needs at the time of discharge, including their ability to live independently and to adhere to relevant housing criteria, different discharge options are considered,” Bland wrote.
Those options can include going home (with or without community support), lodges, continuing care, emergency shelters, transitional housing, and short and long-term rentals, she said.
Bland said AHS connects patients with community non-profits if they need help with housing following their discharge from acute care.
Health Minister Adriana LaGrange said the situation is concerning. On Tuesday, she said she thought the patient agreed to be moved to a motel. On Wednesday, LaGrange said she learned that didn’t appear to be the case.
“What I’m really disappointed and concerned about is that the non-profit provider who actually provides non-medical housing was not clear with the patient that they were taking them to the motel.
“We have to have better policies, procedures and structure put in place so that this doesn’t happen.”
LaGrange said her ministry is “digging into” why this patient was moved, how it was communicated and what this social agency is doing.
“I can tell you that AHS, Seniors, Community and Social Services (ministry) and Alberta Health do not have contracts with this non-profit provider nor do we have them accredited through us.”
In a statement, the health ministry said the agency is not a continuing-care organization and is not under contract with AHS. Individuals can choose to access their services and pay for those services, said Andrea Smith, spokesperson for the ministry of health.
“We are extremely concerned that this happened and the ministries of health and community and social services will be working with AHS to review their discharge policies.”
LaGrange also said this is considered a specialized housing program after medical treatments in a hospital setting were done.
Jason Nixon, minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services, said he couldn’t speak to how Alberta Health and AHS makes discharge decisions and how patients are connected with community organizations if they need further assistance.
However, he said the premier has instructed his department to work closely with the health department on complex discharge processes and how best to connect people with the services they need when they leave the hospital.
Nixon said he’d never heard of Contentment Social Services until this news coverage.
“This organization, as far as we have been able to tell, has no connection to any government department.
“It’s not funded by government, it’s not licensed, or working with the government in any other way, at least in my department.”
Nixon said he’s asked the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee to check if any clients are working with this organization and if they are, that they’re receiving appropriate care. He also said the public guardian would check if there are other problems with this organization.
“We have been making inquiries with Alberta Health Services and other areas to find out what exactly is taking place,” he added.
“This organization has no connection to seniors, community and social services. My understanding from health has no connection to them as well,” Nixon said.
The Opposition NDP asked the health minister how many other patients are in this situation and how many contracts this agency has. LaGrange could not provide those answers during Question Period.
Rachel Notley said it’s time for the UCP government to take responsibility.
“The two ministers cannot even get it together about who’s responsible,” she said Wednesday.
“If they spend all their time fighting with each other about whose job it is to fix it, how will we ever get any answers? How will we ever get any solution?
“This is a profound demonstration of utter incompetence by both ministers,” Notley added. ”
With files from Kabi Moulitharan, Global News, and Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press
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