A patron of Leisureworld caregiving complex, which includes O'Connor Gate, leaves the home on May 15, 2008, with his cane in hand.
Staff risk firing for 'hoarding' diapers
August 22, 2008
STAFF REPORTER
An east Toronto nursing home is threatening to fire front-line staff for hiding extra diapers in residents' rooms – a practice workers say is necessary to ensure that residents are not left in wet and soiled briefs.
Staff at Leisureworld West Hill said they grew so frustrated by diapers kept under "lock and key" that they called in the Ontario health ministry to investigate. A spokesperson for Health Minister David Caplan told the Star that investigators visited the home on Aug. 11 and cited it for violating the nursing home act.
"It was related to not having provided enough diapers to properly care for the residents' needs," Alan Findlay said. "This particular incident shows that we are determined to take action on these things as they arise."
Leisureworld CEO David Cutler admitted the home has been hit with a violation, but said he will complain to the ministry, alleging its investigator accepted the concerns of front-line workers without investigating whether extra diapers were readily available.
He also said the investigator ignored comments from a registered nurse who apparently told the investigator that the supply was diminished because front-line workers were hiding the diapers in residents' rooms.
Cutler said the West Hill facility – and the Leisureworld chain of 26 homes – spends extra money on diapers to ensure the residents receive proper care. He also said residents are assessed by "professional third-party providers" for their incontinence needs.
"We don't just provide the bare minimum," Cutler said.
Cutler defended the letter sent by administrators of the West Hill home, one of seven homes Leisureworld purchased early this year, making it the third largest private nursing home operator in Ontario.
The letter, which says it is "MANDATORY" that staff read and sign, threatens disciplinary action possibly leading to "TERMINATION," if staff are found "hoarding" diapers in residents' rooms.
"We have discovered that staff have been deliberately hoarding incontinent products in the residents' closets, dressers and in their clothing (i.e. Sleeves of coats, jackets and sweaters)," the letter stated.
"The front line staff has then been complaining that there are not enough of these products on hand for them to deliver incontinent care to our residents. This is not acceptable and is an untrue statement."
The letter ends by saying "hoarding of supplies is theft and will not be tolerated."
Cutler said the "hoarding" of diapers by a few workers is creating a shortage of available diapers, not the actions of the home.
"Staff, because they are busy or whatever, will take product and hoard it, in individual residents' rooms and hide it. Why do they hide it? Because it is easier to hide it in a closet than it is to go to the trolley," he said. Each resident receives their allocation of diapers each day. If there is need for an extra brief, the workers must ask the charge nurse, who has the keys to the room where they are kept, he said.
Complaints about limited access to diapers are not new.
Many homes now use diapers that come with a claim that they can be worn comfortably until they are 75 per cent full of urine and feces – a practice that sparked outrage last summer when it was reported in the Star. The Ontario Federation of Labour filed a human rights grievance over the practice.
Critics say the health ministry needs to give more money for diapers. Ministry spokesperson Mark Nesbitt said the funding system is complicated and works like this:
About eight years ago, homes started using the more expensive paper diapers instead of cloth so the ministry gave operators an extra $1.20 a day for each resident to cover the higher costs, Nesbitt said. This $1.20 has to be accounted for and if it is not spent, it is returned to the ministry at the end of the year, he said. The rest of the money for diapers is taken from funds found in what the ministry refers to as the "accommodation envelope," he said. Operators can keep these unspent funds, he said.