Explosion of abuse and bullying
of older adults in caregiving
There has been an increase in the number of incidents and accidents that occurred during the provision of health care and social services in Quebec. Half of the events occurred in residential and long-term care centres (CHSLDs) and a third in hospitals, but what is most striking is the explosion in the number of cases of abuse of seniors in the context of care.
According to an annual report by the Ministry of Health and Social Services, published Wednesday, the number of reports in general has been declining in recent years, but an increase has been observed in the last year. The ministry's report covers the periodfrom April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024.
It shows that people aged 75 and over are more affected by incidents or accidents; Nearly 60% of the reports are directed at this age group. Women are also overrepresented; 52.8% of cases concern them.
The Official Opposition critic for seniors and caregivers and home care, Linda Caron, called the report damning in a statement.
The Liberal MP pointed out that seniors aged 65 and over are victims of 74% of all incidents and accidents that occurred in 2023-2024 and that those aged 75 and over represent more than half (52%) of those victims of abuse, assault, harassment and bullying. In addition, there have been 13 deaths among seniors associated with these causes.
In CHSLDs alone, there are more than 10,000 cases of abuse, assault, harassment and intimidation. "It's serious! We cannot stand idly by in the face of such appalling results," saidMs. Caron.
"Problems of abuse, assault, harassment or bullying for which permanent consequences are observed continue to increase," the report says. They have almost doubled in the last two years, while their number was only 22 declarations in 2021-2022. »
Overall, the most common types of accidents and incidents are falls and near-falls (41%), followed by medication-related events (23%). Other events – which include breaches of confidentiality, runaways or disappearances, respiratory obstruction and pressure ulcers – account for 18%.
The report says there were about 56,000 incidents for the 2023-2024 period, which is a 13% increase from last year.
Incidents are described as an action or situation that does not result in consequences for the state of health or well-being of a user, but which could cause consequences in the future. "Incidents are events that do not affect the user: the action or situation is detected before it can reach him or her and have consequences on the user," the report states.
As for accidents, there are just over 446,500, an increase of 8.35% compared to last year. Accidents are defined as "an action or situation where the risk occurs and is, or could be, the cause of consequences on the state of health or well-being of the user".
It is important to note that although the number of accidents and incidents has increased, the proportion of the number of care provided is comparable to that of last year.
For the period analyzed in 2023-2024, there were 6.3 million institutional medical consultations, 3.6 million emergency room visits, 210 million laboratory tests and nearly 506,200 surgeries performed.
In addition, approximately 16,400 reports were excluded from the report because they did not include all the information that must be completed to allow for proper analysis.
The vast majority of reported events (99.7%) did not result in any serious or permanent consequences. Approximately 774 events (0.15%) resulted in serious and permanent consequences, and 679 accidents (0.14%) were associated with a fatality.
The reporting of incidents and accidents and the establishment of the national register of incidents and accidents that have occurred in the provision of health care and social services are the result of legal obligations. This report includes incidents and accidents that have occurred in public and private establishments.
The Canadian Press' health content is getting funding through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. The Canadian Press is solely responsible for editorial choices.
According to an annual report by the Ministry of Health and Social Services, published Wednesday, the number of reports in general has been declining in recent years, but an increase has been observed in the last year. The ministry's report covers the periodfrom April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024.
It shows that people aged 75 and over are more affected by incidents or accidents; Nearly 60% of the reports are directed at this age group. Women are also overrepresented; 52.8% of cases concern them.
The Official Opposition critic for seniors and caregivers and home care, Linda Caron, called the report damning in a statement.
The Liberal MP pointed out that seniors aged 65 and over are victims of 74% of all incidents and accidents that occurred in 2023-2024 and that those aged 75 and over represent more than half (52%) of those victims of abuse, assault, harassment and bullying. In addition, there have been 13 deaths among seniors associated with these causes.
In CHSLDs alone, there are more than 10,000 cases of abuse, assault, harassment and intimidation. "It's serious! We cannot stand idly by in the face of such appalling results," saidMs. Caron.
"Problems of abuse, assault, harassment or bullying for which permanent consequences are observed continue to increase," the report says. They have almost doubled in the last two years, while their number was only 22 declarations in 2021-2022. »
Overall, the most common types of accidents and incidents are falls and near-falls (41%), followed by medication-related events (23%). Other events – which include breaches of confidentiality, runaways or disappearances, respiratory obstruction and pressure ulcers – account for 18%.
The report says there were about 56,000 incidents for the 2023-2024 period, which is a 13% increase from last year.
Incidents are described as an action or situation that does not result in consequences for the state of health or well-being of a user, but which could cause consequences in the future. "Incidents are events that do not affect the user: the action or situation is detected before it can reach him or her and have consequences on the user," the report states.
As for accidents, there are just over 446,500, an increase of 8.35% compared to last year. Accidents are defined as "an action or situation where the risk occurs and is, or could be, the cause of consequences on the state of health or well-being of the user".
It is important to note that although the number of accidents and incidents has increased, the proportion of the number of care provided is comparable to that of last year.
For the period analyzed in 2023-2024, there were 6.3 million institutional medical consultations, 3.6 million emergency room visits, 210 million laboratory tests and nearly 506,200 surgeries performed.
In addition, approximately 16,400 reports were excluded from the report because they did not include all the information that must be completed to allow for proper analysis.
The vast majority of reported events (99.7%) did not result in any serious or permanent consequences. Approximately 774 events (0.15%) resulted in serious and permanent consequences, and 679 accidents (0.14%) were associated with a fatality.
The reporting of incidents and accidents and the establishment of the national register of incidents and accidents that have occurred in the provision of health care and social services are the result of legal obligations. This report includes incidents and accidents that have occurred in public and private establishments.
The Canadian Press' health content is getting funding through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. The Canadian Press is solely responsible for editorial choices.
