An unusual amenity inside a long-term care home in Guelph has raised flags for local and provincial health authorities.
At the Village of Riverside Glen, a doctor’s clinic has been set up on the second floor, bringing thousands of its patients through the building.
It doesn’t sit well with some people who have loved ones living at the facility.
“When we’re sick, we’re told to stay home,” says Siobhan Bulmer, whose father previously lived at Riverside Glen.
“When these people are sick, they’re told ‘Please come to Riverside Glen and bring your illness with you.’”
The clinic has been running for two years.
Officials in Guelph’s planning department say it contravenes the city’s official plan and bylaws, and the public health department has raised concerns about a potentially increased risk of disease transmission.
Change orders have been issued by Ontario’s health ministry as well.
In one report, inspectors found that clinic patients weren’t using hand sanitizer – and neither was the doctor.
Over an 18-month period, Riverside Glen was issued six orders for corrective action by the province – placing it second among the 37 long-term care homes operating in Waterloo-Wellington.
Ruth Auber, Riverside Glen’s director of nursing, says changes have been made in response to those orders, including the hiring of additional nurses and personal support workers.
“We welcome the ministry inspections here, so we can learn from them,” she tells CTV News.
Changes are also in the works, Auber says, to satisfy the concerns of the city and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health – a new elevator, for example.
Already, the clinic has its own separate entrance and ventilation system.
“We’re very proud of the health centre,” she tells CTV News.
“We feel the benefits are huge – not only to the local community, but also to our residents.”
Riverside Glen has come to the attention of Concerned Friends, an Ontario-wide organization that advocates for better care in nursing homes.
Lois Dent, the group’s interim president, says she’s concerned about conditions at Riverside Glen – especially with the clinic.
“There’s nothing in the act that says you can’t do this, but it doesn’t seem to be in the spirit of the act,” she says.
Peter Smith – Siobhan Bulmer’s father – lived at Riverside Glen for three years.
In that time, Bulmer says, Smith was attacked by residents with dementia at least six times.
“He was grabbed. Somebody tried to strangle him. Someone else had smacked him on the side of the head. People tried to push him,” she says.
Smith was eventually moved out of the locked dementia unit, Bulmer says, but his problems didn’t stop there.
“We got the call … that they found him on the floor and they thought he’d broken his hip,” she says.
Bulmer says Riverside Glen should have provided more preventative measures, including a floor mat and a bed alarm.
Several months ago, fed up with the clinic’s presence and the other issues, Smith moved to a new facility.
Officials at Riverside Glen would not comment on Smith’s specific experience and allegations of resident abuse, but said they take all concerns seriously.
