HALIFAX -- Halifax resident, Tina Williams is angry at what she says was a lack of attention given to her mother at her nursing home.
“My mother needed medical help, and they didn't do it – they did not do their job,” says Williams. “I just thought, ‘oh my God, I put her in a place to be protected, and she wasn't protected, and I'm not there’ – it's the worst feeling in the world.
William's mother, Nancy Kelsie, appeared to be fine around Christmas; however, after several recent falls, she’s suffered several injuries to her face, neck and spine.
Kelsie was a resident at the Melville Lodge nursing home in Halifax. Patient records provided to the family show she fell twice on January 21 around 1 p.m. and again around 6 p.m. Despite her injuries, she wasn't taken to an emergency room, and records show her family wasn't notified about the second fall until the next day.
“How can somebody, in care of somebody else, know that this person is in this level of hurt and they do not reach out to the next of kin?” says in-law, Janet Benoit. “How do you reasonably justify that?”
When Kelsie was taken to the emergency room three days later, her granddaughter recorded a video of her in a terrible state.
Currently, Kelsie is at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital – leaving Williams and Benoit to figure out their next move.
In an email, representatives from Gem Health Care Group told CTV News:
“…the Lodge followed policies and procedures and the Department of Health was made aware. Senior staff have been aware of the situation, have reviewed documentation and are confident that employees took the appropriate steps.”
When Williams posted about the incident on her Facebook page, she also heard from the care home's lawyers in a letter addressing what the care home says are inaccuracies" in William's social media post – adding they'll be taking appropriate legal action. It reads, in part:
“Melville Lodge had contacted a doctor who provided medical advice for your mother, had contacted emergency paramedics, and had taken all actions consistent with the care directives available to it.”
Williams acknowledges her mother did receive pain medication and visits from medical staff but insists it wasn't enough.
“I need this to not happen to anybody else’s family member,” says Williams. “I do not want anybody to go through what my family and my mother has been through.”
Meanwhile, Williams says she’s reviewed the letter from the care home's lawyers and says she plans to fight any claim they may bring against her. Furthermore, Nova Scotia’s NDP has taken notice of the incident, with leader, Gary Burrill, saying long-term care should be a top priority for the province.
