Care aides are accused of inappropriate physical actions against five residents of Extendicare Oakview Place, in Winnipeg’s Sturgeon Heights neighborhood, between August 2021 and January 2022, a spokesperson for the Winnipeg Police Service said. As a result, none of the victims required medical treatment. “Their investigation was quite extensive and involved a lot of interviews with witnesses, potential witnesses; they would have talked to family members as well as the victims themselves,” said Winnipeg police Const. Dani McKinnon said in an interview Tuesday. “[Investigators] concluded that assault charges were the most appropriate charges.” A 49-year-old woman and a 36-year-old woman were arrested Monday, police said in a Tuesday news release. The former is charged with three counts of assault, while the latter is charged with two counts. Both were released with a number of conditions. The charges come after the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority said in June that two whistleblowers reported allegations that two care aides had abused 15 residents of the privately owned care home. The allegations were first brought to the attention of Extendicare’s local management through a whistleblower in February, the health authority said. However, the WRHA was not notified until it was approached directly by another complainant on June 10, according to a press release later that month. The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority said in June there were allegations that 15 residents of Extendicare Oakview Place had been abused. (CBC) Although there are allegations that 15 residents were attacked, only five residents have been charged. It’s unclear whether more charges will be filed, McKinnon said Tuesday. “At this stage, I have no indication of any other victims,” he said. In an online statement Tuesday, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority said its staff now visit Oakview Place regularly to identify and mitigate any risks and ensure resident care meets standards. “The alleged actions of these two staff do not reflect the values or the safe, compassionate and quality care that the vast majority of personal care home workers provide every day,” the statement said. The two health care assistants remain on leave, the statement said. At a news conference in June, an Extendicare spokesman said the fact that neither the health authority nor the police were notified of the allegations in February was a breach of company protocol. “It is completely unacceptable that this did not happen, and for that we deeply apologize to the residents, their families and WRHA,” Sandra Goers, the company’s Manitoba regional director and director of operational quality for Western Canada, said at the time. . “You deserved better than this and we’ll do better.”
License under consideration: province
In an email sent to families of Oakview Place residents on Tuesday, obtained by CBC News, Extendicare says it was told by police that the two health care aides facing criminal charges are not allowed on site, nor are they are allowed to have contact with any of the victims. The company says it will hold a virtual town hall Wednesday to answer family questions. A provincial government spokesman said Tuesday that a review of Extendicare’s operating license for the facility began Aug. 31. While the review is underway, Oakview Place will be subject to unannounced visits by the licensing and compliance branch and will be required to provide “regular updates” on any new allegations or complaints, the spokesman said. Uzoma Asagwara, the health and aged care critic for Manitoba’s Opposition NDP, called on the Progressive Conservative government to install an elderly advocate “to give seniors and their families a voice.”
