A licence appeal from the owners of a Hamilton retirement residence at the centre of a May COVID-19 outbreak which saw 16 people die has been put off until 2021.
Tribunals Ontario told Global News that a “joint request” by the appellant Rosslyn Retirement Inc. and the respondent Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority (RHRA) agreed to adjourn a hearing until the new year.
“The matter will now proceed to another a case conference on a date yet to be determined with the expectation that new hearing dates will be scheduled at that time,” said Tribunal Ontario spokesperson Janet Deline.
The appeal was filed in June after Ontario’s regulator revoked the retirement home operators’ licence following an inspection report which invalidated the charter of the Rosslyn during a coronavirus outbreak.
The lawyer representing the Hamilton retirement home, Robert S. Brown, said his client made the request for the adjournment but would not disclose the reason why.
Brown filed an appeal on behalf of his client on June 15, the same day the RHRA decided to revoke his client’s licence to operate the King Street East facility.
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“Rosslyn welcomes the opportunity to publicly explain how it prepared for COVID-19, and to show the actions it took at the home since it was struck by this outbreak,” Brown said in a statement to Global News after filing the appeal.
“Rosslyn is confident that when all information is publicly known, it can satisfy the Registrar, the public, and its community that it responded appropriately.”
A spokesperson for the RHRA also said he could not comment beyond confirming the adjournment to 2021.
“I can confirm that the Licence Appeal Tribunal has adjourned the hearing on the consent of both parties and that no new hearing date has been scheduled at this time,” RHRA spokesperson Phil Norris told Global News.
“The order revoking Rosslyn’s licence remains in effect.”
The RHRA invalidated the licence after an inspection report said the home failed to properly store drugs, confirm action was taken on pest control related to mice and bedbugs and did not produce written plans of care for residents.
The report went on to allege that the licensee’s site manager attempted to obstruct the inspection, only showing the inspector fully completed resident documentation, while incomplete files were said to be “off-site.”
The home was evacuated in May with the city having to enlist six staff and one physician from St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (SJHH) and another from Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) to supervise.
More than 60 residents were split up with half sent to St. Joe’s Charlton campus and the others transferred to the Hamilton General Hospital for treatment.
Public health said 64 residents and 22 staff from the Rosslyn contracted the coronavirus.
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