Long-Term Care Facilities in Ontario: A Resident’s Rights

In 2018, a number of cases were reported alleging long-term care facility negligence toward residents. Some allegations are disturbing and attracted significant media attention and resulted in large class action lawsuits.

The Ottawa Citizen reported that an Ottawa long-term care facility was named in a class action lawsuit, following the discovery of maggots in a resident’s leg wound. The resident died in January of 2017. Other Ontario based long-term care facilities allegedly involved in disturbing negligent care of residents are named in this multi-million dollar lawsuit.

Source: https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/west-end-villa-long-term-care-home-named-in-class-action-lawsuit

If you or your family are considering placing a loved one in a long-term care facility, here is some important information to consider before making this important decision:

In Ontario, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term care oversees long-term care homes. Specifically, the Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007 is the legislative authority, which outlines a number of important guidelines and principles, including a resident’s rights, care and services. The Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007 can be found at: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/

Section 3(1) of the Act sets out the Residents’ Bill of Rights, which, essentially is a list of rights that the law provides for residents of a long-term care facility. It is important for families to know about this law as it promotes and protects resident care and safety.

These rights include:

• the right to be treated with courtesy and respect and in a way that fully recognizes the resident’s individuality and respects the resident’s dignity.
• the right not to be neglected by the facility or staff.
•  the right to live in a safe and clean environment.
•  the right to be told who is responsible for and who is providing the resident’s direct care.
• Every resident has the right to,

1. participate fully in the development, implementation, review and revision of his or her plan of care,
2. give or refuse consent to any treatment, care or services for which his or her consent is required by law and to be informed of the consequences of giving or refusing consent,
3. participate fully in making any decision concerning any aspect of his or her care, including any decision concerning his or her admission, discharge or transfer to or from a long-term care home or a secure unit and to obtain an independent opinion with regard to any of those matters, and
4. have his or her personal health information within the meaning of the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004kept confidential in accordance with that Act, and to have access to his or her records of personal health information, including his or her plan of care.

• to be informed in writing of any law, rule or policy affecting services provided to the resident and of the procedures for initiating complaints

If you have a family member who is currently living in a long-term care facility and are concerned about their rights being violated, consider consulting with a personal injury lawyer. The law aims to protect residents and promote quality of care for a vulnerable population.  Residents and their families are entitled to compensation for negligence on the part of these facilities, which results in injury or death of the resident.