N.L. NDP leader slams personal care homes over hundreds of evictions

An eviscerating report into Newfoundland and Labrador's personal care homes found hundreds of incidents where residents were evicted, including some being refused re-admittance after needing emergency room visits.

Newfoundland and Labrador's NDP Leader Jim Dinn called the auditor general's report on personal care homes "disturbing." The report also found sexual assault allegations, improperly administered medication and an accidental overdose death.

"When we're talking about the care of seniors, it's important to remember that seniors are not commodities. They're not widgets, they're not some product we're churning out. They're people," Dinn told CBC News on Thursday.

Denise Hanrahan's report found 91 residents who needed emergency room visits and weren't accepted back by their personal care home.

"What a disrespectful, disrespectful, inhuman way to treat a senior," Dinn said.

He said emergency rooms are notoriously full, but also wonders if some of those people needed to be there at all.

"Are they just dropped off? Discarded? It's almost like setting them adrift," he said.

The report noted that the practice was known by the Department of Health and Community Services and Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services, but not addressed.

Interim Health Minister John Haggie said it's inaccurate to paint a picture of residents being dumped in a parking lot.

"It's a nuanced issue because there are a variety of reasons why a person might go to the emergency department and not at that moment go back to the personal care home," Haggie told reporters on Friday.

Hundreds of evictions

According to Hanrahan, during the audit period — between April 2022 and September 2024 — the health authority reported 254 resident evictions. Five residents were evicted without consultation with the health authority.

The provincial Residential Tenancies Act does not apply to personal care home residents.

Dinn said that means there are no grounds for personal care home residents to appeal an eviction. But, he said, such evictions should not be happening and the government needs to take steps to prevent it.

"It's a shameful practice," he said.

He suggested personal care homes could be brought into the public health system.

Complicated role

On Friday, NLHS CEO Dr. Pat Parfrey said evictions are "definitely a problem." 

"The poor people who are evicted, it must be a massive problem," Parfrey told CBC News. 

If a personal care home refuses to take a resident back, he said they are then admitted to the health-care system, which leaves NLHS to determine where they should go for care.

It's likely that some of the residents who were refused re-admittance were turned away because their medical needs surpassed what the personal care home was capable of providing, Parfrey added.

"But making that decision in the middle of the night and not taking the patient back is the worst way we can deal with it," he said.

Speaking to the number of evictions cited in Hanrahan's report, Parfrey said it's concerning, "but it's not the health authority doing that. That's the personal care home and you should speak to them about it."

In Hanrahan's report, she said NLHS didn't provide the audit team with enough evidence so that they could test if PCH's were compliant with eviction regulations.

"I'm sure she's right and I think that the NLHS will have to do a better job [at] being able to provide that evidence," Parfrey said.

However, he said the NLHS is challenged by staffing issues at a time when Newfoundland and Labrador's aging population has grown.

Parfrey said the NLHS and the health department are working together to respond to the auditor general's report to implement new standards, better monitoring, as well as address staffing.

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