Our system suffers when health workers are muzzled

André Picard, The Globe and Mail

On Feb. 25, 2015, a month after her grandfather’s death at St. Joseph’s Health Facility in Macklin, Sask., Carolyn Strom posted the following comments on Facebook: “My grandfather spent a week in palliative care before he died and after hearing about his and my family’s experience there, it is evident that not everyone is “up to speed” on how to approach end-of-life care or how to help maintain an aging senior’s dignity. I challenge the people involved in decision making with that facility to please get all your staff a refresher on this topic and more. Don’t get me wrong, “some” people have provided excellent care so I thank you so very much for your efforts, but to those who made Grandpa’s last years less than desirable, please do better next time.” For those innocuous comments, Ms. Strom, a registered nurse, has been found guilty of professional misconduct by the Saskatchewan Registered Nurses’ Association.

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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/our-system-suffers-when-health-workers-are-muzzled/article33207845/

Nurse who wrote about grandfather’s care on Facebook found guilty of professional misconduct

Andrea Hill, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, The Ottawa Citizen

In a precedent-setting decision, the body that regulates Saskatchewan’s nurses has said that a nurse who posted on Facebook about her grandfather’s health care experience is guilty of professional misconduct. In February 2015, Prince Albert nurse Carolyn Strom posted a news article about end-of-life care on her personal Facebook page and then commented about the “subpar care” her grandfather had received at Macklin health facility. The post was brought to the attention of staff there, who filed a complaint with the Saskatchewan Registered Nurses Association (SRNA).

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http://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/nurse-who-wrote-about-grandfathers-care-on-facebook-found-guilty-of-professional-misconduct

Lifestyle tops drugs (again) in delaying dementia

André Picard, The Globe and Mail

Another promising drug treatment for Alzheimer’s disease has tanked. Scientists and analysts alike had high hopes for solanezumab. There were predictions that it would be a blockbuster that could rack up sales of $10-billion a year. After all, in laboratory tests, the drug was able to bind to a protein called amyloid beta that builds up in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients. Theoretically, if you can keep the protein from clumping together to form a sticky plaque that clogs up the brain you should be able to stop the disease from progressing. But, in the real world, it didn’t work.

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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/lifestyle-tops-drugs-again-in-delaying-dementia/article33074841/

Cornwall care homes rated “grim and unsafe”

BBC News, UK

Reports on four private care homes where distressed residents were ignored and left without help to eat have been described as “horrifying reading”. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) found the homes in Cornwall were providing “grim, shoddy and unsafe care”. One home, Clinton House, in St. Austell, closed earlier this month after a BBC Panorama investigation. The Morleigh Group said staff had been removed from Clinton House and a “thorough review” had been carried out. The CQC inspected four homes, part of the Cornwall-based Morleigh Group, including Clinton House in St. Austell, St. Theresa’s in Callington, Elmsleigh in Par and Collamere in Lostwithiel and rated them all “inadequate”. Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed it was involved in a multi-agency investigation. No arrests have been made.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-38096835

Husband and wife care workers are caught on secret CCTV abusing an elderly dementia sufferer

Charlie Moore, UK MailOnline

Maurice Campbell, 56, was jailed for two years and four months for abusing an elderly dementia sufferer in her own home. He slapped 85-year-old Dora Melton in the head and tried to ram tablets down her throat while his wife Deborah Campbell stood by as Mrs. Melton screamed. Mrs. Melton’s family installed CCTV when the Campbells went on a holiday as they were worried she might not react well to new care workers. After the Campbells returned, Mrs. Melton’s family decided to keep the CCTV in place but when they noticed food splashed around the room, they decided to look through footage spanning the previous six weeks and noticed that Mrs. Melton had been subjected to a variety of degrees of ill treatment. Mrs. Campbell will be sentenced in January 2017.

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http://dailym.ai/2fV6ksm