CORNWALL, Ontario – Karen McIntosh and her husband Gary Labelle are looking for support in efforts to have the province mandate cameras in common areas of all long-term care homes in Ontario.
While McIntosh’s son Matthew, who has lived in a residential care facility for 10 years, has avoided abuse at the hands of staff members, the Cornwall mom said often the paperwork that must be filed after an incident is incomplete.
“It leads us to wonder…how do we know that what is written on these reports actually took place?” she said. “We are also trying to get with the video some audio. It may look like everything is going well, but verbally it could be different.”
A petition put forward by McIntosh and Labelle seeks public support for the camera installation and says it is sorely missing in long-term care homes in Ontario.
MPP Jim McDonell has presented the petition, still in its infancy with about 100 signatures, to his colleagues at Queen’s Park. McIntosh said he plans to return with the petition when it is complete with hundreds if not thousands of signatures.
“It’s heart wrenching having to put your child into a home,” said Labelle, Matthew’s step-father. “Any parent that has had to go through that will understand. And there’s no way of knowing what is going with the children.
“The parents are terrified to begin with…something should at least be in the common areas. Some things may get missed. It’s easier for us as parents to let us know there is something there…”
McIntosh said seniors homes could follow suit, if the province sees fit to fund such a scheme.
“It protects staff against false accusations. They could look back and see did it occur, or not?” she added.
McIntosh’s petition can also be found here. She can be reached at 613-330-9125 to answers questions.
