Nova Scotia’s new premier say the situation of a 10-year-old boy living in a hospital, when he doesn’t need to be, is simply unacceptable.
Dominick Benoit has severe spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, is legally blind and has a seizure disorder.
He also has the mental capacity of a four-year-old and the physical abilities of an infant, but there is no immediate medical reason for him to be in a hospital.
He used to live at the Evergreen Home for Special Care - the only long-term facility of its kind for children in Nova Scotia – but staff there say they can no longer meet his needs.
As a result, he has been living at the Valley Regional Hospital in Kentville – located two hours away from his family in Truro – for eight months and his mother says she has had enough.
“I would like the government to put their money where their mouth is like they were saying for all this time and have patient-focused care,” Renee Benoit told CTV News on Monday.
That was the plan under the NDP and now Nova Scotia’s new Liberal government is agreeing to look into the issue.
“It’s unacceptable, really,” says Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil. “There are too many young Nova Scotians who need support in order to be able to live quality of life. We need more options than just the hospital.”
Brenda Hardiman, who helped start Advocating Parents of Nova Scotia, agrees and says the problem is much bigger than one child.
“It is a crisis situation and needs to be dealt with immediately,” says Hardiman.
Advocating Parents of Nova Scotia is calling on the Department of Health and Wellness and the Department of Community Services to work together. Hardiman says there are gaps in the current system that need to be closed.
“It probably is not the appropriate place and the appropriate delivery model of good care, and that particular case is one that I’m certainly prepared to take a look at,” says Nova Scotia Health Minister Leo Glavine.
Renee Benoit hope that happens sooner, rather than later. She says her son isn’t getting the stimulation he needs at the hospital and she also worries about the risk of infection.
“Dominick is a bright, happy, healthy boy,” she says. “He needs his family. He needs to be close to us.”
She says she wants the government to create smaller group homes in more areas of the province.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Kayla Hounsell
