Safer measures for people with disabilities following scalding death
Posted Jan 30, 2012 8:47 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Measures to keep people with developmental disabilities safer are being put into place by the provincial government.
The action stems from the death of a client in the Persons with Developmental Disabilities program after the 35-year-old was put in a scalding bath last October and died of his injuries a month later while in hospital.
Under the new plan, all PDD homes with two or more patients or with one person deemed as having significant needs will have to install temperature-limiting hardware on bathtubs.
The province will pick up the full tab for any of the thousand-plus residences that require the upgrade.
Seniors minister George VanderBurg said bringing pay at PDD facilities in line with government facilities is also important to help prevent staff turnover.
“To address the discrepancy in the pay, that will involve pay raises,” he said.
VanderBurg says additional staff training will also be offered to all PDD homes.
Meanwhile, Calgary Liberal MLA Harry Chase says similar incidents date back to 2004 and still nothing’s been done.
He says in 2005, Auditor General Fred Dunn pointed out inadequacies in a scathing report on long term care, and in 2006 a judge at a fatality inquiry made a number of recommendations including using heat controls.
He tells 660News, “we’re now in 2012 and still talking about it and the recommendations made by Dunn have not been achieved.”
He says it’s rather scary that the Senior’s Ministry admits there are 1000 facilities that don’t have the appropriate hardware.
He believes a senior’s ombudsman should be put in place who reports directly to the assembly much like a children’s advocate.
He says the things we do on a daily basis in our own homes to protect our loved ones should be carried out in any type of homecare support programs.
