Province suspends admissions to nursing home
Lift device contributed to senior's death, coroner says
New admissions to an East York nursing home where two seniors died suddenly within days of each other last month have been suspended by the Ministry of Health for 30 days.
The action is being taken against Leisureworld Caregiving Centre O'Connor Gate at 1800 O'Connor Dr. "due to numerous areas of non-compliance with provincial long-term legislation," according to a ministry statement issued yesterday, adding the home must submit a plan to address problems by May 21.
"The ministry is continuing the conduct inspections at the long-term care home to ensure that residents are not placed at risk," the statement said.
Meanwhile, the Ontario Coroner's Office is suggesting a medical lift led to the death of the second senior.
"Initial autopsy results indicate that the incident involving the lift device contributed to the death," a statement from the province's associate deputy chief coroner Dr. Bert Lauwers said.
"The lift involved, and all similar lifts at Leisureworld, have been taken out of service pending the results of the investigation. The lift device is widely used throughout Canada and internationally."
Wally Baker, a 67-year-old resident of Leisureworld died April 30, four hours after falling from an automated lift used to transfer patients from bed to a chair.
He died at Toronto East General Hospital.
The Coroner's Office, the Ministry of Health and Health Canada continue to investigate Baker's death, which came just three days after the sudden death of another senior at Leisureworld.
Florence Coxon, 87, choked to death in her room on a restraining belt strapped to her wheelchair.
Late last week, Lauwers told The Mirror that his office will begin monitoring all deaths at Leisureworld for an unspecified time.
The Coroner's Office does not assign blame, but determines cause of death and tries to ensure similar fatalities are prevented in the future, he added.
Leisureworld's chief executive officer David Cutler said the company is saddened by the deaths in the East York home.
"Our hearts go out to the family members and our focus (in Baker's death) right now is working with the authorities to get all the facts."
Leisureworld is devoted to providing residents with compassionate and safe care, he added.
Baker's death is not the first time Leisureworld has had an issue with the lifts.
Cutler cited two other incidents with similar lifts at its home in Dufferin prior to Baker's death. Experts were subsequently called in to fix the problems and certify safety, he said, adding Leisureworld exceeds ministry standards in ensuring safety of the lifts.
Leisureworld received written confirmation from the Canadian distributor that the manufacturer, based in Sweden, was aware of the two incidents. The manufacturer also said the incidents were isolated events and not indicative of a larger problems.
Leisureworld notified Health Canada of the correspondence.
The lift used to help Baker received routine servicing last December and was deemed safe, said Cutler, adding he is not aware of any problems with that particular device before Baker's death.
Meanwhile, the Ontario Long Term Care Association is urging the Swedish manufacturer, a company named Liko which calls itself "the home of safe lifting" on its website, to respond to safety concerns with the device. "The other homes that have this lift need to know whether or not they can use it to provide safe care to residents," association executive director Janet Lambert said in a statement.
The association also wants the Canadian distributor of the lift, Peridot Medical Inc., based in Oakville, to address safety concerns.
"To this point, we are not aware of any response to the obvious safety concerns from the manufacturer," Lambert said.
"We believe this is unacceptable. Homes must be provided with the information they need to deliver the safest possible care."
Tim Huxley, director of Peridot's corporate affairs, said his company is aware of the concerns associated with "the unfortunate death of Mr. Baker."
"We're well aware of the incident. We have passed on the various information that has come to light" to Liko, Huxley said.
He said the lift involved in Baker's death was sold to Leisureworld in 2005 by Peridot Medical's predecessor called Peridot Group. Peridot Medical came into existence as a company in 2006.
Peridot Medical serviced the lift last December in accordance with the manufacturer's requirements, Huxley said.
"The lift at that point in time was in a position where it could be used," said Huxley, adding the servicing was routine and he wasn't aware of any previous problems with the device.
