Mr. John Williams suffered from Alzheimer's and through no fault of his own or those of his family, he spent his last days bullied and beaten in the Aberdeen Hospital. The following is a voice from the side of the Commissionaires that are expected to perform duties for which they have had no training. And the story continues.
Security officers not appropriate patient attendants
By JOHN D. ALLEN
Thu. Oct 29 - 4:46 AM
As Canadians live longer and longer, our health care system’s acute and long-term facilities are facing some real challenges in caring for us in our advancing years. The recent alleged assault of an elderly Alzheimer’s patient by a hospital security guard is a graphic symptom of the system’s failure.
Alzheimer’s affects more than 500,000 Canadians, and the latest worldwide report on the disease estimates more than 35.6 million people are affected, up 10 per cent since 2005.
"The information in the 2009 World Alzheimer Report makes it clear that the crisis of dementia cannot be ignored," says Debbie Benczkowski, interim CEO of the Alzheimer Society of Canada. "Unchecked, dementia will impose enormous burdens on individuals, families, health care infrastructures, and global economy."
I have been a security professional for more than 20 years; for four of those, I supervised the security teams assigned to three Nova Scotia hospitals. Juggling funding, staffing and bed availability, today’s nursing units have their hands full with the actively ill; and my colleagues and I became rapidly aware of the inability of the acute-care system to manage the behavioural issues associated with those suffering chronic brain injury.
From that experience, I am firm in the belief that the use of security staff as long-term patient attendants is an unacceptable, albeit convenient and cost-effective, substitute for trained mental-health professionals.
Alzheimer’s accounts for 64 per cent of all dementia cases and regardless of their skill and experience, the Dealing with Disturbed Persons, Non-violent Crisis Intervention and Pressure Point Control training received by many security staffers does not prepare you to safely engage the 60-year-old stroke victim who throws furniture; the psychotic senior who violently strikes everyone, including their own family; or the frail grandmother who screams day and night.
Furthermore "the deterrent factor" offered by a uniformed presence often serves only to enflame a situation, especially if paranoia is part of the patient’s illness. An omnipresent security guard, outside the door, only adds to the patient’s isolation, stigmatizes them and their family, and erodes what little dignity the disease has felt them.
A security officer should never be the primary care plan. It is a clear indication you are not coping.
I am not in any way justifying this particular incident; from media reports, the officer appears to have acted most inappropriately. But staff frustration quickly builds in these types of chronic situations and unfortunately, such incidents will continue, as more and more brain-injured patients languish in acute medical wards and mental-health units awaiting placement in long-term care facilities — many of which are reluctant to admit potentially violent persons because they themselves do not have the resources necessary to manage these residents.
Whether their condition is organic, caused by trauma or dementia, brain-injured Nova Scotians deserve the same level of dignity and care we all enjoy, and the need for properly trained health care professionals to deal with their special needs has been clear for some time.
Mahatma Gandhi said, "You can judge a society by how it treats its weakest members" — but the issue, as with everything in health care, is funding.
As we age and face the insidious prospect of our minds turning on us, specially trained orderlies and attendants will become a necessity if we hope to live in a dignified, caring environment.
John D. Allen lives in Halifax.
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