How seniors’ home safety changed since cane-beating death of resident

TORONTO – Joycelyn Dickson had every reason to believe she would be safe in her room at The Wexford Residence, a seniors’ care facility in Scarborough.  But on the night of March 13, 2013, the 72-year-old was beaten to death with a cane, allegedly by a fellow resident of the home.

News cameras captured the scene as 72-year-old Peter Roy Brooks was taken away by police.  He was charged with second-degree murder and assaulting another resident that same night. A health ministry report later revealed several alleged incidents where Brooks physically or verbally assaulted residents and staff at The Wexford.

Dickson’s death was neither the first nor last of its kind in Ontario.  Operators of care facilities and unions representing workers have been warning for years of the dangers of residents harming other residents.  Those suffering from dementia can sometimes develop violent tendencies. 

One of the most notorious cases happened in June of 2001 at the Case Verde home in Toronto’s west end.  A resident allegedly beat two others to death with a piece of metal taken from a wheelchair.  A coroner’s inquest subsequently produced dozens of recommendations, but deaths and beatings still happen in seniors’ homes.

After Dickson’s killing, Health Ministry inspectors produced a damning report on The Wexford Residence, finding several shortcomings in procedures for protecting residents from abuse, citing “a pattern of inaction.”

The Wexford promised changes and when the ministry inspectors returned in December 2013 they found that all the improvements had been made.

In the wake of the Dickson incident, Health Minister Deb Matthews promised that all of Ontario’s 630 care homes would be inspected by the end of 2014 and that there would be more money to train staff.

“We’ve still got work to do,” said Matthews at Queen’s Park Monday.  “We are not where we want to be but we are determined to do what needs to be done.”

CEO of the Ontario Association of Non-Profit Homes and Services for Seniors (OANHSS) Donna Rubin told Global News that more inspections and training are welcome but the province is still falling short.

“It’s not going to change the fact that these things are going to continue to happen,” she said.

OANHSS is lobbying for dramatic action in the upcoming budget, citing shocking numbers that speak to the magnitude of the problem. Of the 77,000 residents of care homes in Ontario, 11 per cent—8,470 people–exhibit what are described as severe levels of aggressive behaviour.  Rubin said staff just cannot keep up.

“We can’t have our eyes and ears everywhere on the units to make sure that people are safe,” she said.

Rubin’s organization advises that the most problematic residents be moved into more specialized facilities where they can be properly watched and cared for.

They also are calling for increased funding for more staff and improved training.  But their ideas carry a cost—an estimated $136 million dollars a year.